Authors: Eve Langlais
“Release the female,” Xarn’s mother demanded.
A sneer twisted the green face. “She is payment for the job your son and his friend didn’t complete,” hissed the red eyed creature, whom Louisa had a sneaky suspicion was female.
With a battle cry to put any man to shame, Xarn’s mother charged, and a red beam of light hit her in the chest. The impact shot her in the air and she flew, limbs flailing until she landed with a thud and crackle of snapping foliage in a yellow and red bush.
Before Louisa could see if she survived the landing, a metal arm wrapped around her waist and lifted her, carting her through the jungle to a dull grey egg like structure with an opening in its side. Thrust inside, she found herself quickly tied up and gagged by the robot while the little green witch slapped at a control panel.
I am such an idiot.
If she’d only stayed by Brax and Xarn, this would have never happened. Even if she was only a convenient hole for them to screw, they would have protected her, or so she hoped. Now, stuck on a tiny ship with a crazy alien, the future appeared bleaker than ever.
Mumbling to herself the whole while, her kidnapper piloted the strange pod from the surface of the planet with a mighty rumble that shook them. Louisa closed her eyes and prayed, although, given how little God listened to her the first time, she didn’t really put much hope in rescue. She’d blown her chance by running away. Blown her chance at a future and happiness, even if it would have only lasted until the guys could dump her on the nearest planet.
A tear slipped down her cheek, just one, because she refused to cave in to pity again. Her own misery was what landed her here in the first place. So now, she’d have to find a way out.
But days later, locked in a room aboard a larger spacecraft with only herself for company, her method of counting time dependent on the meals delivered through a hole in the wall, she lost hope. It didn’t help that the green goblin enjoyed taunting her with her eventual fate. It seemed the plan was to sell her to the highest bidder as revenge on her purple hunks, and Louisa didn’t need any help picturing what would happen to her then.
By the time the green alien bitch was leading her up to a dais, on some god forsaken planet that could have used a giant dose of air freshener, dressed in some revealing white gown that stopped mid-thigh, her hair looped and curled, her face enhanced with cosmetics, she didn’t care anymore what happened to her. Or so she thought until she saw the sea of faces in front of her. Well, sea of eyes and mouths because the visages in the crowd certainly didn’t come close to looking human. The skin colors ranged in hue, some even sporting the mauve she’d come to love.
Despite herself, a teeny tiny spark of hope lit itself as she scanned the gazes trained on her, looking for two pairs of familiar blue eyed ones. Apparently, she still harbored a crazy dream that her purple warriors might arrive to the rescue. Might care enough for her that they’d try and save her from her fate. But only an idiot, or two, would try and brave the imposing robotic guards at her back and the avarice filled faces of the audience in front of her.
The witch shoved her forward to stand close to the edge of the platform while some kind of announcer listed her merits, his smooth voice echoing all around from invisible speakers. Her attributes were played up and numbered more than she would have expected, but the focus of a few proved worrisome because who wanted to be known as the human with enough meat to feed a family of six for a galactic week.
With so many gazes trained on her, many of them creepy, she dropped her eyes to stare at her feet, only vaguely noticing the commotion at the front of the stage as a trio of cloaked figures pushed their way closer.
Sick freaks come to get a closer look at the human sacrifice,
she thought with a touch of anger.
Curling her fingers into her palm, except for one, she prepared to give them a barbarian salute when something about them caught her attention. Ivory skin, peeking from the shadow of a hood made her peer closer. Her jaw dropped in shock as the cowled figure tilted its head and she saw the redhead from the clearing. Aylia if she recalled the name correctly.
Could this mean…?
A mighty bellow, echoed times two, saw her lifting her head, then smiling as two figures came swinging from the balconies ringing the room. Big, purple and dashing, Brax and Xarn grinned viciously as they swung onto the stage, their booted feet aimed forward and knocking down some robots as they arrived. She’d never seen a more welcome and handsome sight.
In one chaotic moment, Louisa found herself surrounded, by the good guys. It seemed her purple hunks had come to the rescue and brought their family. Four purple guys with swords and one red headed human—sporting a small pregnant belly—spun and swirled around her, the gleam of their weapons flashing. In no time at all, the hulking robots that were her guards, lay in pieces on the stage.
And the crowd roared. They stamped their feet and whistled, exclaiming over the impromptu floor show. While the two strange purple dudes glared at the audience, Brax and Xarn swept a wide bow as Aylia shook her head. Louisa, still reeling from her sudden rescue, found herself swept into one pair of brawny arms and kissed soundly, a kiss cut short as she was pulled into a second tight hug for an equally fervent embrace.
Breathless and still somewhat stunned, she ended up back on her feet, a possessive arm around her waist and another around her shoulders. The crowd cheered louder, but the exultant grins on her warriors faces turned into scowls when shouts began offering lurid advice—such as how much to get between her thighs.
“Time to leave,” Xarn growled.
“Past time,” Brax agreed as they turned her to face away from the leering faces.
“You look surprised,” Aylia remarked to Louisa over her shoulder as they led her from the stage.
“I am.” Louisa peered up at her purple hunks, a smile curving her lips. “I can’t believe you both came to rescue me.”
““Of course we did. We will always come for you, Louisa.”
“We weren’t about to let you go,” Xarn said with a grin to curl her toes.
“Or let you come to harm,” Brax added with a fierce scowl.
“We would have been here sooner, but that green bitch did something to our craft.” Xarn sounded so adorably disgruntled she laughed.
Giddy joy made her body light. “I am just glad you made it in time.”
“As are we.” Brax hugged her waist tight.
“It will make a great story to tell our progeny one day.”
“Our what?” She wanted Xarn to explain what the hell he meant but having reached some kind of large reception area backstage she found her words lost as she saw Xarn’s mother, alongside an equally large purple female, holding her green captor between them.
Suddenly, those red eyes didn’t look so scary anymore.
“We’ve apprehended the troublemaker. She’s already admitted to causing the problem on the planet that saw your credits frozen. A transcript of her confession will be sent to the governor Did you want to punish her yourself for her temerity?”
It took Louisa a second to realize they spoke to her and not her purple guys. What did they want her to do? Judging by the vicious looks aimed at the witch, violence at the very least. “Um, I don’t suppose I could leave that up to you?”
The evil grin the matrons threw her way sent a shiver down her spine and suddenly made her glad they were on her side. “Our pleasure.”
“Consider her screaming torture to be one of our mating gifts to you,” added the woman Louisa had an inkling was Brax’s mother.
As they hauled the goblin lady away, screaming invectives that made the two purple mothers laugh, Louisa sagged as reality sank in. She was safe, from being sold at least. What would happen to her now though remained to be determined. Although, she definitely held a spark of hope in her heart.
Aylia planted her hands on her hips. “That was fun. Can we do it again?”
Jaro growled. “No. You do realize you’re pregnant?”
Rolling green eyes were his answer. As they stalked off arguing, yet holding hands, Louisa couldn’t help but smile at their evident love for each other. A grin that faded as a big frowning purple dude planted himself in front of her.
“My barbarian would greatly enjoy meeting another of her people. You will visit. Soon.”
Not quite understanding, she did what she thought safest and said, “Um, okay.”
With a terse nod, he left, his boots clacking and his scowl scattering aliens in his path.
“That is our cousin, Tren,” Brax murmured as they also began to walk in a different direction. “He accidentally abducted a human and is now mated to her.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“Oh yes. You should have met him before. He’s actually quite pleasant now.”
They considered that pleasant?
“We will visit Megan and their child soon,” Xarn promised.
“We?”
As they crowded into a cubicle whose door slid shut after them, she peered up at them. Then squeaked as she ended up squished between them.
“Yes, we,” Xarn growled. “Do you know how much we missed you while we searched?”
“How we worried about your wellbeing.”
They did?
“From now on, you do not go anywhere without one of us.”
“Or preferably both of us.”
“So, you’re not going to dump me?”
Brax frowned. “I do not understand your expression. But, if you are implying we would discard you, then I take offense. You belong to us.”
“Do I get a choice?”
A look passed between Brax and Xarn, followed by a shrug and a masculine grin that made her tummy flip. “No,” they said in synchronization.
Brax stroked her cheek as he stared into her eyes. “It was explained to us that the affection and regard we have for you has a human word—love.”
Xarn titled her head and devoured her with his intense stare. “We really love you and want you as our mate, which with our kind, means forever.”
“And if I say no?” she said with teasing smile. Not that she had any intention of refusing, she loved the big idiots. But still, a woman couldn’t act too easy.
“I think she is asking us to convince her.”
“Most definitely,” Brax replied leaning back and slapping his hand on the wall. The cubicle, which she assumed was some kind of elevator, stopped.
“What are you doing?”
As usual, they didn’t ask her, they showed her.
*
Brax recognized her teasing smile for what it was—love. During the stressful voyage where they’d tracked her kidnapper, he had many chances to talk to Aylia, Xarn’s mother, Megan and even his cousins. He learned a few things he’d not understood before, such as, he needed Louisa, something he’d kind of figured out, but like the idiot male he was—according to Megan—never bothered to tell her. Humans, the females especially, needed affirmation, needed to know a male bore strong affection for her. Actions worked, but oddly, they required the actual oral presentation of the word ‘love’ to truly believe it.
They also apparently really liked grand rescues. Megan compared it to a warrior rescuing a female from some kind of giant, winged lizard that breathed fire. Brax didn’t care. Once he saw Louisa on that stage, alone, frightened and being leered at by males who should have been struck blind, he would have fought an entire army to reach her side. To make her safe. To make her his.
And he knew Xarn felt the same way. Together, they saved the female they loved. And now, they would show her, again and again if needed, that when they said mated, they meant forever.
Only one thing made his battle hardened psyche tremble, the fact she’d yet to say she loved them too.
*
Xarn could read the emotions that flitted across Brax’s visage, because he felt them too. Relief they’d saved their female. Joy she was unharmed. Trepidation that while they wanted her as mate for now and ever, she’d yet to admit she wanted them too.
During the chase to find Louisa, he’d spent too much time talking to his cousin’s mate. Megan, with great relish, told him how the females of her world enjoyed choice in who they would be with, needing love for happiness. It was not a reassuring conversation especially when he realized Louisa never said she loved them, as a matter of fact, she spent a lot of time annoyed with them and telling them to go away. Aylia said it was because she bore them affection, and she knew that for a fact because she felt the same way about Jaro. But Xarn worried.
Once the most carefree of bachelors, the idea of not having Louisa in his life, with her tart comments, her wicked smile, and simple presence, seemed unbearable. For a warrior of his caliber the thought of failure, of any kind, was not to be borne. If he and Brax must battle for her heart, then they would do so, the way they knew best—together.
Let her try and deny her affection for them when they had her screaming in pleasure.
And if the fight for her love took more than one round, then so be it. Let it not be said that he wouldn’t sacrifice and do his best to please his mate.
*
She wasn’t sure what went through her purple hunks minds, although she thought she recognized affection, relief, a touch of doubt and then smoldering determination.
Their admittance they loved her took her by surprise, and she almost said the words back, planned to actually, but not out of the blue, just like that.
She wanted ‘the moment.’ And lucky her, judging by the way they sandwiched her between them, their hands roaming her body, sliding under the silky material of her gown, they would give it to her.
Brax kissed her first, his embrace soft, and coaxing, melting her with gentleness until she panted against his mouth. When she would have demanded more, her tongue seeking his, he pulled away and spun her, giving her to Xarn who took her lips with a fierce passion. He boldly thrust his tongue into her mouth, conquering her, seducing her, while Brax’s hands slid under her top to cup her breasts. As he strummed his thumbs over her nipples, he whispered in to her ear, his warmth breath sending shivers down her spine.