Authors: Evanne Lorraine
Jaxon dropped his gaze and refused to meet her eyes, mutter
ing, “This is our second tour—almost four years.”
“Plenty of time to kill you if he wanted to do so,” she said reasonably, praying the
Goddess would clear his vision. What hope did these warriors have when violence was their default response to every problem?
I’m no diplomat, but I’m the only rational person here. I have to try to make peace between them.
With each breath she drew, her craving for the warriors’ touch grew stronger. The suddenness and the strength of her body’s reaction left her shaken.
She fought the startling desire for closeness, stepping away from both of them until she hit the wall.
She prayed for
calmness and turned to Aegis, “How often do you need to breed to keep from going berserk?”
“I
have no way to know.” He focused on the compartment over her head.
How much the admission
of helplessness must hurt this proud warrior. Goddess grant him mercy.
Before she had a chance to offer him comfort, Jaxon captured Aegis’s chin, forcing him to meet his gaze. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“I feared your reaction,” Aegis said flatly.
“That hurts, bud.” Jaxon released his hold and swallowed hard. “I can see your point. I can be a real jerk.”
“No. However, you are capable of extraordinarily stubbornness.” The corners of the larger male’s mouth quirked as if he fought a smile.
Cami blinked back tears of relief.
“Don’t count on getting a ring from me next moon cycle.” Subtexts of hurt and doubt in underlay Jaxon’s words.
He
narrowed an accusing gaze at her. “You don’t seem to have a problem with demon guy. Tell me how you can accept him without a bat of those pretty lashes, when you know nothing of warriors?”
She straightened her spine. “I’ve met several warriors.”
“’Kay. Don’t stop now, sweetheart. Tell me about them.” He grinned at her, lessening the challenge in his eyes.
Heat raced up her neck, flaming her cheeks. “I attended a match ceremony.
Many warriors were there.”
Jaxon’s
infectious grin vanished.
Pain creased Aegis’s noble brow. He asked gently, “What happened?”
She managed to force words past the sudden tightness in her throat. “My matches didn’t claim me.”
T
otal silence followed her explanation. Discomfort settled like badly cooked meat in her belly. She darted peeks at one male and the other. She remembered all the happy couples shying away from her at the mating ceremony.
Do these warriors believe rejection is contagious too?
After dread lined her stomach,
Jaxon cleared his throat. “We were tied up in a dogfight, Camille d’Rondeur.”
She frowned at him. “How do you know my full name?”
“I—we’re your matches.”
“I see,” she
lied calmly. She turned over his incomprehensible words in her mind. Slowly she understood the ugly truth.
The men exchanged another unhappy glance, and for once their silent message
was as clear as the Goddess’s way.
What in the seven hells do we do with her?
Not exactly healing balm for her wounded pride.
No matter what everyone thought, she wasn’t stupid or blind. Jaxon and Aegis were already mated. To each other.
T
hey’d been matched to her by the warriors’ peerless genetics system. They weren’t interested in mating with any woman, least of all with her. She was about as welcome as space pirates on a holiday star cruise. And the bad news just kept coming.
The ambassador had explained her matches view
ed a holocast of her medical examination prior to the ceremony. There was no shame in this because she would soon be theirs. The viewing was a formality. No New Eden warrior had ever refused his lawful match.
Except for lucky me.
Aegis and Jaxon were her mat
es. The same males who’d seen her rounded breeder’s body in all its naked glory and rejected her.
She was
an idiot. No, idiot didn’t begin to cover this level of stupidity. She’d just spent the last five minutes working to convince the two of them to stay together.
She clung to the shredded remnants of her pride to keep from crying in front of these incomprehensible
males. If she could’ve disappeared, she would’ve—in an instant. Since magic wasn’t one of her talents, she gaped at the floor in utter misery. Tight quarters didn’t allow for privacy.
Other than
the sanitizer.
“I need to use the facilities,” she blurted gracelessly. For a moment, she thought the warriors would object.
“It’s the only door on the port side,” Jaxon said.
She nodded as if she understood
.
Port side
meant nothing to her. Then he tipped his head toward the facility.
She slipped by the
m, careful to hold her breath. There was something dangerous in their scent. The more she inhaled the delicious aroma, the more she wanted them. She feared she wouldn’t stop until she was plastered against one or, better yet, both of their hard bodies.
She had no standard for judging this frightening attraction. Perhaps they were uniquely suited to her on some biological level. The fact that New Eden’s super-smart, self-aware, artificial intelligence
system matched her with both males supported her theory. The evidence, her senses, instincts, and bruised pride all whispered they wanted each other—not her.
If she served any purpose,
it was as an excuse for the carnal desires they didn’t allow themselves to own.
More dangerous than their intoxicating scents were the truly scary side effects. Whenever she inhaled
around them, her common sense, her judgment, and even her self-preservation instinct vanished.
Grateful for the respite, Cami slipped into the sanitizer and closed the door, securing it for privacy. Not that the interior portal would stop either of the males if they decided to ignore her preference. The small chamber and their consideration gave her at least a few minutes to figure out what to do.
Hot tears of shame and loss stained her cheeks.
Instant answers failed to appear, so she scrubbed away the tears and took stock of the amenities.
The cleansing gel had a pleasant, fresh scent
, nothing like the warriors’ intoxicating natural fragrances, thank Goddess. The sink, sanitizer, and waste processor were all compact and spotless. Simple controls activated the functions, including the room’s self-cleaning cycle. It was still hard for her to accept this level of luxury as normal, even on a utilitarian fighting craft. On Earth they scrubbed everything with plant-based soap and endlessly recycled water.
S
he decided to multitask, but thinking in the body sanitizer. The comlink might not survive the cleansing process. She set it on a shelf before stripping her clothing and tossing them in the garment cleaner. The roomy warrior-sized compartment allowed her to twirl around as a gentle spray of gel soothed her dry skin. No brilliant insights arrived during the sanitizing cycle.
She tucked her hair into a simple braid, stepped into the freshened jum
psuit, and tugged on her boots before palming the comlink. She paused and activated the viewer.
Even t
hough the space station hadn’t responded, the sorority used different technology for both flight and communication. Desperate enough to take the risk, she tapped on her sole contact—the ambassador.
“Camille, are you all right?” Moria’s voice held notes of anxious relief.
“Yes, the shuttle crew is—” She swallowed a sad knot in her throat. “They’re gone. May the Goddess guide their final journey.”
“I will pray for their souls. When I saw the surveillance feed of you boarding the craft, I feared you lost too.
The Goddess is strong in you.”
Cami
didn’t feel blessed or strong. She had no idea how to reply, so she kept quiet.
“Are you safe?” Moria asked.
“Yes …” Her voice trailed off, when no words to explain her predicament failed to magically fall her lips.
“Where are you?”
A quick, fearful intake of breath added urgency to the ambassador’s question.
“
I’m on a New Eden Space Corps fighter,” Cami whispered.
“With warriors?”
“Yes, two.” Cami blurted a jumbled explanation of how Aegis and Jaxon were her matches although they seemed bonded to each other.
Certain she had
little hope of changing a lifelong prejudice during a com chat; she omitted any mention of Aegis’s species. If Cami hadn’t met Aegis, she would still believe all nonhumans suspect and demons abominations. Moria was an intelligent woman, but too steeped in the sorority’s teachings to understand Aegis wasn’t a vicious monster without a lengthy explanation.
After a
significant pause, Moria asked the practical, sensible question. “Do you still want to breed and return to Earth?”
“Yes, but they’re not…enthusiastic about me.”
“Excellent. Goddess willing, this may work out exactly as you wish.”
“I don’t see how,” Cami mu
ttered.
Moria made a chiding noise. “
Had the warriors wanted you as their mate, they would never willingly allow you to immigrate. Perhaps your assumption about the bond between the two of them is correct. If this is so, then they need you to stay silent. I have studied their laws. A same-sex alliance would mean immediate dishonorable dismissal from the Space Corps. They should be willing to donate a little seed in exchange for discretion.”
“Dear
Goddess.” Moria suggested blackmailing the fierce warriors? Cami felt dizzy and sank to her knees on the cool floor.
“
There is much to consider. Unfortunately your opportunity may be fleeting. The mating ceremony was timed close to the peak of your fertility cycle.”
Cami nodded
, still trying to understand the ambassador’s solution.
“
You have no time to waste. I cannot predict when you will be rescued.”
Or blasted to cosmic dust
. Cami supplied what Moria had been too tactful to say.
“You must
choose your course of action at once.”
She was
right. Cami trembled while thinking how few hours had passed since that morning’s ceremony. So much had happened the humiliating ritual seemed to have taken place in another lifetime.
“
Artificial insemination is not the warriors’ way. They may refuse to provide samples. Are you prepared to breed with them, little one?”
Cami
should’ve dragged herself to the damn class. She had no time for evasions. “I’m afraid I missed the in-person portion of the course.”
Moria
covered her mouth and coughed, hiding her reaction to the admission. “I understand. Please listen carefully, the male…”
After she finished Cami sat
back on her heel, stunned. Shaft penetration wasn’t a bad joke.
S
he took a deep breath and let it out slow. “I’ll do it. I’ll ask each of them for a sperm sample.” The words rushed out before she’d made a conscious decision. The choice was right. If necessary she would endure the males’ barbaric practices. Fertilization was worth anything. An echo of the heat that unfurled deep in her belly when she was near Aegis and Jaxon rippled through her, dampening her sex.
She flushed at the memory. Perhaps in-person breeding has unsuspected benefits.
“The warriors plan to launch an assault force and retake the space station within the next twenty-four hours. One of the sorority’s ships is waiting for the bays to be secured before docking. This once, I think it worth the risk to leave as soon as possible, before conception is confirmed. You might well be on your way to Earth by this time tomorrow. May the Goddess keep and protect you.”
“Thank you, Ambassador. May the
Goddess keep and protect you.” She tucked the comlink into her pocket. Dizziness made her head spin. She gathered her courage and used the wall to stand, inhaling and exhaling in measured breaths, while waiting for the lightheaded sensation to pass. She had to fulfill her prime function. She couldn’t indulge in anything as silly as fainting.
“You okay in there?” Jaxon asked through the door.
His worried voice jerked her upright. Cami had been bred and trained to breed. She would not let simple nervousness stop her. As long as she kept a safe distance, avoided inhaling their potent scents, and explained to them what she needed in clear terms, all would be well.
She
drew another slow, deep breath for courage, pulled the corners of her mouth into a confident smile, and released the portal. “I’m fine. I need—”
Then she made the mistake of meeting Jaxon’s dark eyes, full of tender concern
for her. Their gazes tangled and locked.
Her smile faltered, and her thoughts scattered
like sperm exploding from a shaft. The air in the small cabin was rich with a spicy, drugging fragrance. She leaned closer to the warrior, breathed in his addictive scent, and lost her mind.
She’d said she was okay, but Jaxon didn’t buy it. Her hands twitched, her fingers tapping each other rapidly. He wrapped an arm around her, rubbing little circles on her soft shoulder to keep her calm and steady. Nothing to do with how damn fine she fit in his embrace.
Right, he was an animal.
She swayed closer, her eyes huge in a face pale as a moonfish’s belly.
“What do you need, sweetheart?” Jaxon tucked her
tighter against him.
“Seed,” Aegis said flatly.
Huh
? Jaxon read her thoughts. He’d heard Aegis right. Seed was clear in her mind, but it didn’t make sense. Fighters were colonizers with hydro pods. They had nowhere to plant. “What sort of seed is she thinking about?”
The big guy frowned. An expression so familiar
—so Aegis—for a second Jaxon saw past the knobby horn, which were kind of cute, and the pointy ears. Okay, the pointed-ears were weirdly sexy. His scales were definitely different and green. Even the curls Jaxon had longed to touch weren’t hair. He still wanted to feel the damn things. Rather than black, Aegis’s tentacles and eyes were actually a deep, dark, glossy green.
Aegis was a huge male demon, lethal as the seven hells, and this
didn’t change what was real between them. He was still his copilot, best friend, and the hottest guy Jaxon had ever seen. Though hot was one thing and trustworthy another. Aegis had never entrusted him with his secret. That hurt like all seven levels of hell.
“
Sperm. Cami is fertile, and she wants to mate,” Aegis explained in a low rumble.
Well, that little statement put an end to Jaxon’s pity party. He swallowed hard
, avoiding giving her the old bug-eyed stare. “How do you…” He lost his train of thought and tried again. “Are you sure?”
“I am certain. She is ovulating.
I have not encountered this fragrance for many years; however, I never forgot the aroma. The scent is unique and unmistakable.”
Whoa. Instant
brain freeze while highlights from Aegis’s explanation replayed in Jaxon’s head—Cami, fertile, wants to mate. He brushed her arm, excused his clumsiness, and sorted through her thoughts—breeding, destiny, seed. He rocked back against the hull.
Did I stumble into a holo-ho unit session? The big guy still looks grim. Is there some monster catch I’m missing?
His gaze heated to blaster level as he locked on
the sweet little breeder, letting her see he was more than ready for this mission.
Cami blinked
. Her pretty eyes suspiciously shiny. Not a happy signs. She edged closer to the sanitizer, bad news all over her beautiful face. Her chin tilted to determined, raising her gaze somewhere over his shoulder. “I have a question.”
“Anything, sweetheart.”
“For Aegis.”
That stung.
“What do you want to know, little one?” Aegis asked.
She met the big guy’s eyes. “Will our young be demon or human?”
Aegis didn’t hesitate. “If Jaxon fertilizes your ovum, the babe will be human.”
“And if you do the job?”
He shook his head. “This is unlikely. My seed cannot penetrate unless your egg has already been softened by Jaxon’s sperm.”
“
It is possible?”
“
Technically.” Aegis angled away from her tear drenched eyes.
“If it happened, the young
would be demon?”
He cleared his throat and said with simple dignity, “
I am Tethysian. The babe might be Tethysian, human, or a half-human Tethysian shifter. No matter what his genetic heritage, he will be loved.”
“Absolutely,” Jaxon s
econded the big guy.
“So it’s best to begin with Jaxon’s s
eed, then yours.” Cami said.
Abso-fucking-lutely, sweetheart.
“Sperm deposits will be completely satisfactory.” She paused. “Your replicator will provide two specimen containers and an injector. I can handle the rest.”
For a beat he was too gobsmacked
to react. By herself? No fucking way.
“Not happening. That’s not how warriors breed,” Jaxon growled at her, too s
hocked to bother with tact. He glanced at Aegis. The big guy’s mug showed nothing but a whole lot of
what in the seven hells is she thinking
? Great. Neither one of them had a clue.
She flinched, shrinking away from him by a couple of millimeters. “
You don’t want me. Why not cooperate with my request? The specimens are no loss to you, and there’ll be no personal contact.”
Where had she gotten the idea they didn’t want her? And the way she said “no personal contact,” it was like she was trying to reassure them. As if a lack of touching
her lushness might be a good thing. Slowly awareness that women were different beyond their soft skin, tempting curves, and sweet scent penetrated his thick skull. Once more, with something that was too close to desperation, he turned to Aegis for help. The big guy gave him the same dazed stupid expression painting his own kisser.
Clearly Cami knew even less about males than they did about women. The whole conversation sound
ed like the start of a lame joke. A clueless guy and clueless demon meet a clueless girl. No joy down that set of coordinates.
He needed to blaze some bold new warrior territory. Judging by Cami’s anxious glances, he needed to
blaze damn fast. Still floundering, he went with instinct. “You want to breed?”
Her eyes widened with fear, but she didn’t back away.
“Yes.” Her lips parted as if she had more to say. Nothing came out.