Alcandian Soul

An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication

www.ellorascave.com

Alcandian Soul ISBN # 9781419908958 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Alcandian Soul Copyright© 2007 Mary Wine Edited by Sue-Ellen Gower. Cover art by Syneca. Electronic book Publication: January 2007 This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 443103502. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

Content Advisory: S – ENSUOUS E – ROTIC X – TREME Ellora’s Cave Publishing offers three levels of Romantica™ reading entertainment: S (S-ensuous), E (Erotic), and X (X-treme). The following material contains graphic sexual content meant for mature readers. This story has been rated E–rotic. S-ensuous love scenes are explicit and leave nothing to the imagination. E-rotic love scenes are explicit, leave nothing to the imagination, and are high in volume per the overall word count. E-rated titles might contain material that some readers find objectionable—in other words, almost anything goes, sexually. E-rated titles are the most graphic titles we carry in terms of both sexual language and descriptiveness in these works of literature. X-treme titles differ from E-rated titles only in plot premise and storyline execution. Stories designated with the letter X tend to contain difficult or controversial subject matter not for the faint of heart.

ALCANDIAN SOUL

Mary Wine

Trademarks Acknowledgement The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction: Hummer: General Motors Corporation Jacuzzi: Jacuzzi, Inc.

Alcandian Soul

Chapter One Alcandar

Home is where the heart is… Interesting idea. Cole Somerton watched the sunset and considered just where home was. He was a man without a world. Limbo came to mind as he grinned at his own musings. He’d been born on Earth, but the only life waiting for him there involved prison—maybe even a firing squad. Cole shrugged. He’d be lucky if returning to Earth involved a quick death facing down a firing squad as opposed to lingering for years, incarcerated as a traitor at some military prison where the word “parole” wasn’t even in the dictionary. Well, treason was determined by the side of the border you stood on. In his case, he was watching the sunset from the surface of Alcandar. It was humans who wanted to brand him a traitor. But even his face wasn’t human any longer. When he looked in the mirror, his own mother would have had trouble recognizing him. Life on Alcandar was the cause of that transformation. Alcandians had taken to splicing genes three generations ago. Mother Nature didn’t take very kindly to being manipulated. The average Alcandian male grew to somewhere between seven and eight feet. His bones were thicker so more muscle mass could be built up on his body. Their immune systems were amazing, but there were side effects too. While attempting to make the male more powerful, science had also altered the building blocks for the next generation. There were very few births of female children, since Alcandian sperm was now ninety-nine percent male.

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A harsh lesson, but one that had shaped the culture into its current adaptation. Cole jumped to the ground and his legs easily took the shock of the fall. Alcandian science had altered more than flesh. They had practiced their knowledge on the foods that would feed their stronger race. That same food had unlocked his pituitary gland and sent his body on another growth spurt, proving that Alcandians and humans were not all that different when it came to their DNA. It had been almost humbling to deal with acne at thirty-four, but the changing image in his mirror was fitting compensation. He stood seven-feet eight-inches tall with a shoulder span that was stunning. Cole frowned as he looked up at the first stars of the night. His birth planet was out there, millions of miles away. It was full of humans who refused to listen to Alcandian lessons. Instead, they had betrayed him and the aliens who had attempted friendship. Now, he was a rare human on Alcandar. Even odder was the fact that he was male. The Alcandians had contacted Earth with one mission in mind. Searching for female mates. It sounded like a fair trade. Access to Alcandian scientific knowledge that was eons ahead of Earth’s top scientists, and the “powers that be” on Earth allowed Alcandian warriors to search quietly through the population for their mates. Even population statistical data supported the relationship. Earth had more females than males. It was such solid data that Cole still had trouble understanding why the military had turned on the Alcandians. They called it human pride. Cole considered it the dumbest move United States military forces had been a part of since the American Civil War. And he was caught on the opposite side of the battle lines. He frowned at that idea. What exactly did you do when the things that you thought you believed in turned out to be wrong? He had pledged his loyalty to the Alcandian program at his commanding officer’s order. He had worked with them, traveling to Alcandar through a wormhole the

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Alcandians built. And when it had all came down to Earth blowing up that wormhole, he’d been left behind on Earth to face charges of being an alien lover. “You are too pensive this night, Cole.” Dyne moved into view as he waited for Cole to see him. Cole felt the brush of the Alcandian warrior’s mind against his and he relaxed his guard. Their thoughts merged briefly as Dyne nodded at him. Alcandians were psychic. Hell, so were a great number of humans. That was one of those things the Alcandians had been quite willing to share with humankind. Genetic proof of psychic ability hidden in their DNA. It was a fact, not good old gut instinct. “There is no point to your thoughts. The humans have made their choice. There is nothing for you on Earth. Alcandians are not so primitive.” True, but a face surfaced in his mind without conscious thought. Dyne frowned as he caught that image through their merged minds. Cole wasn’t sure why Cassandra’s face surfaced out of all the people he knew on Earth, but he could see the stiff composure on her face as he kidnapped her. One corner of Dyne’s mouth lifted as he nodded his head. “Maybe I spoke too soon.” “No, you’re right, there’s nothing there worth going back for.” Dyne frowned at him but Cole shook it off. Cassandra wouldn’t be happy to see the man who had abducted her. Sure, he’d been on a mission to return Zeva back to Alcandar, but that sure didn’t mean the woman he’d had to take out to get to his mission goal would be anything but pissed off at him. Sometimes doing the right thing didn’t shine a man’s reputation. There wasn’t one good reason why her face turned up in his thoughts, but at least he was the only one dealing with the memory. Cassandra would be sleeping in blissful ignorance due to a little skill the Alcandians practiced known as memory shifting. Before Cassandra had been returned to the small parking lot he’d left his car in, her

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memory of that night had been shifted to a portion of her brain she didn’t use. Truth serum couldn’t even unlock it, and there was little doubt in Cole’s brain that Cassandra had faced long interrogations concerning her abduction and Zeva’s escape. One corner of his mouth rose as he lamented the fact that she didn’t remember him… Hey, as long as he was thinking about her, the least she could do was be mad at him in return.

***** Earth So close. Cassandra felt her muscles strain towards her lover. Her nipples contracted as she felt the warmth of his skin so close to her own, her lungs pulled his scent into her body and she savored it like the bouquet of a fine wine. Her lips quivered as she waited for the first true contact, her first kiss. Her body shook as she yearned for it. Cassandra woke up with a snarl on her lips. The dream dissipated in a wisp of smoke, leaving her only the tremble of her limbs to remind her that she had dreamed at all. Rolling over, she punched the pillow and indulged herself in another couple of snarls. Her mother would frown with disapproval at the unladylike sound, but Cassandra knew her father would approve of the harsher side of his baby tiger’s personality. Snarling just felt right. Frustration slithered around her body like a snake, and as though it were contracting to crush her bones, she found it hard to breathe. Even her skin felt ultrasensitive as she tried to drag a deep breath into her lungs to calm herself. Damn dream man. It wasn’t so much the fact that she had the hots for a dream man that made Cassandra angry, it was the fact that she had no clue who he was. There was never a

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face attached to the dream, just a scent, and sometimes a husky male whisper of her name, but never a glimpse of who the mysterious male was who could turn her on without actually being in bed with her. Stinking unfair. It was like free-climbing the open face of a cliff and never being able to wrap your fingers around the top edge in order to pull your body over the ledge. Every time Cassandra reached for that last rock, her line snapped, dropping her at light speed to the bottom of the canyon where there was nothing but the deep cloud of slumber. But she knew there was someone—him—there. Cassandra looked down at the front of her T-shirt to see the twin points of her nipples raising the soft fabric. Yeah, someone sure did know exactly how to turn her on. Maybe it was a blessing that she couldn’t figure out who he was. Fantasy men always did have a habit of being better than the real flesh and blood ones. Getting snared in a hunt for perfection would only see her life passing by without ever taking a chance on someone. She had a lot of friends like that. They dated for years because they weren’t ready for commitment or their finances weren’t stable enough to begin married life. The thing her father had taught her was to seize the day. There were no guarantees in life, and if you stood around waiting you were going to be watching opportunity pass you by. But her dad was Army all the way. He’d raised her on six different military bases and her mother had followed along. Somehow, her mother had managed to transform standard base housing into a home. Her magic touch never failed, and Cassandra was still looking up to the woman in spite of growing taller than her. Turning her head, she looked at the picture of her parents hanging on the wall next to her bed. The rest of her assigned base housing was as plain and stark as it had been the day she moved in. Another snarl worked its way free of her mouth and this time it had nothing to do with her lust-inspiring dream man. Her career in the Army was in the toilet, and she couldn’t remember why. Kicking her blankets aside, she stood up and paced around the small room. The ironic thing was, a year ago she would have been thrilled to actually 9

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get onto the restricted portion of the base. She’d joined the other enlisted women in fantasizing about just what the off-limits part of the base was like. That place where the Special Forces trained with their high-tech toys. Now she was housed there without permission to leave the perimeter. The stark little apartment she now lived in was a major disappointment compared to the ideas she’d hatched while being denied access to the area. Well, that fit. Dreams would always be better than reality. But she didn’t know why. It festered in her brain as she tried to remember. The brass claimed she knew something. They’d harassed her endlessly in their quest to unlock her memory, but all she ever managed to do was end up with a migraine. They’d even tried hypnosis, but that memory made her shiver. The tape of that session scared her, and that was rare for an Army brat. Her relaxed body had gone into spasms so violent, she was amazed she’d woken up with all her wits still working. There was nothing quite like watching your entire life just go up in a puff of smoke. Eight years in the military, and now she was basically under arrest for something she couldn’t remember. If she’d done something stupid, she could shoulder the responsibility. This ignorance wasn’t bliss, it was pure hell. At least her dream man was awesome. Cassandra frowned. The problem with a relationship based in her dreams was the lack of interaction after you woke up. She paced around the bare little apartment and noticed a base newspaper sitting where she’d left it. She made sure the blinds were closed before turning the light on and picking it up. She never got back to sleep after a dream very easily. A little dry reading would help her get back into her bunk. She scanned the school news and the promotions list, the marriage announcements and births. Cute little pictures of newborns were sitting next to their names and their parents’ ranks. The social calendar only depressed her because she wasn’t allowed off the restricted area of the base. The training classes were a different matter though. 10

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Cassandra stared at the list of advanced physical training classes being offered. Things like archery and hostage negotiation. The one that caught her attention was a martial arts advertisement. The first selling point wasn’t strength but stress reduction. That was something she could use a lesson in. Folding the paper so that the advertisement was on top, Cassandra noted the time. Maybe a little Eastern meditation was just what she needed. The Army had certainly tried just about everything else. Besides, it beat staring at institutional white-painted walls.

***** “You must learn to be at peace.” Master Jing Lee had an amazing voice. The man was deadly in three different forms of martial arts, but his voice was like smooth, thick syrup. Cassandra tried to let that voice drift into her and wash away every thought rattling around her skull. “All things have to be balanced. To struggle is to make waves in a still pond disrupting peace. Fish swim through the water, leaving little trace of their passing.” The instruction went on as the students began to cool off from the hard exercise that had filled the main body of the class. Every session ended with meditation. Master Lee called it “reflection”. Cassandra didn’t know what to label it, but her neck wasn’t aching with tension every night from being watched like a suspected traitor. Maybe she was just getting used to the men who kept a watch on her, but she sort of enjoyed thinking that Master Lee’s “reflection” was doing its job and teaching her to accept the things she could not change. Like getting her butt whipped during his class. Her fellow students were Army Rangers with a few odd operatives tossed in. She was the only female, and keeping up was a point of family honor. It might kill her, but she wasn’t going to quit. At least she was good at the meditation exercises. It was sort of strange to see the Army elite crossing their legs and taking breathing instruction. The Rangers took to every part of

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the class with the same level of dedication and focus. There wasn’t a snicker heard as Master Lee finished his fish lesson before dismissing his students. Cassandra didn’t waste any time collecting her duffel bag in order to leave. Along with her placement in the restricted area came the stigma of being a turncoat. Sure, there were no formal charges but the suspicion surrounding her was enough to keep the men who devoted themselves to the Special Forces well away from her. If she passed a group too closely, they would stop taking. It was a blunt kind of shunning that made her leave the classroom quickly after each class. She wasn’t going to beg for attention. Still, she didn’t want to quit. She had to do something besides just report for her duty rotation. A dry chuckle worked its way out of her mouth as she considered having a boyfriend to fill her after-duty time. That sure wouldn’t be happening, unless she managed to start sleeping more to see her dream man. Moving along the road, she filled her lungs with the autumn air. Her shoulders felt lighter than they had in weeks, and that was worth all the aches in her legs from Master Lee’s training exercises.

***** Cassandra found her bed appealing, more inviting than it had been since waking up in a cell so many months ago. All her frustration was gone for a change and she slipped into slumber content with things the way they were. “Do exactly what I tell you, Sergeant.” Her dream man’s voice wasn’t hypnotic. It was hard with authority as she felt the grip of his hand tighten around her wrist. She could almost smell his skin and feel his body heat as he tossed her over his shoulder. Memory flashed different images but none of them flowed together. Cassandra jerked her head as a car trunk closed with her inside.

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She hissed as her butt landed on the floor next to her bunk. She rubbed her burning eyes and struggled to hold on to the odd dream. Just like every encounter with her dream man, these images had felt so real she could practically touch them. Frustration tried to creep in, dissipating the memory, but she shoved it aside as she folded her legs and began to breathe as Master Lee taught her to. In…out…pause. No ripples in the pond. Only the mirror-smooth surface as water flowed through her, cleansing away all struggle, leaving acceptance. “God damn you, Cole Somerton!” She shot up onto her feet because there was no way she could maintain her relaxed meditation position. She paced around her room as her brain offered up every detail of the night Zeva and Cole Somerton made their break for freedom. It was like she’d opened a door that she hadn’t even noticed sitting in her brain. Once the lock was turned, the memory surged out of the box it had been stuffed into. Cassandra snarled as she recalled the way Cole had tied her up and stuffed her into the trunk of his car. She couldn’t really be too mad at Zeva—everyone had a right to return to their home. Alcandar. It was a huge idea, and she paced some more as she tried to digest all the information pouring out of the memory. Alcandar was another planet with humanoid lifeforms, and that race had been in direct contact with Earth. Huge men who claimed their gene splicing had resulted in a primarily male race. They had built a wormhole, and offered Earth their knowledge in exchange for female mates. Until something went wrong. The unit dealing with the Alcandians had destroyed the wormhole in some quest to maintain human dignity. Zeva had been stranded on Earth. Cassandra cussed low and deep as she recalled the days spent working with the alien woman. Maybe she really was tainted by treason because Cassandra couldn’t see why the two races couldn’t coexist. Wasn’t America supposed to be the melting pot? 13

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She froze as she stared at the telephone sitting on her kitchen counter. Since there was so little in the apartment, the phone stood out, as did the business cards sitting next to it. Newly promoted Colonel Rinehart had interrogated her endlessly. The man’s face twisted with rage when she passed his lie detector tests, denying any knowledge of “anything recent”. Her frustration boiled hot enough to send steam out of her ears as she recalled the man demanding her to tell him things she had honestly been unaware of. Cassandra remembered why too. Dyne. A huge Alcandian warrior who had clasped her head between his oversized hands just before his mind entered hers. There had been a burning flare of pain before her memory ended, just turned off like the entire abduction had never happened. Until tonight. Cassandra moved towards the phone and fingered Rinehart’s card. Oh yes, she remembered every last detail now. But her temper flared up as she looked around the stark quarters. She was being treated like a traitor when her own superiors knew what had happened to her. Cassandra cussed and didn’t much care what her mother would think. She was so pissed off she felt like screaming with her rage. An entire lifetime of dedication and service to the Army and they treated her like a traitor when their program went sour. And then there was Cole Somerton. Her anger deepened into something thick that seeped into her heart. He’d left her to deal with it. Condemned to this isolation hell. She should call Rinehart. Negotiate a return to her life in exchange for the memory flowing through her brain. Cassandra indulged the fantasy for a long moment before she turned and stomped back into her living room. Who could she trust? Rinehart might just decide she knew more than she was telling him and hook her back up to his lie detectors. After passing his tests before, the man would never release her, even if she 14

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gave him her current information, because he’d be waiting for her to uncover more hidden memories. A little shiver moved over her arms and she rubbed the skin as despair took the place of her temper. She was so helpless against it all. There wasn’t much she feared, but the thought of being stuck in her current limbo for the rest of her life terrified her. Was every goal she had just going to be vaporized? She was twenty-six years old. There were so many things to do and no way for her to get her life back on course. Her head throbbed as she tried to untangle the mess. What she needed was someone to trust, but at the moment there wasn’t a single name on that list. Self-pity wasn’t something she usually wallowed in, but tonight it felt like she was being swamped by a wave of it.

***** Alcandar “We have a common mission.” Cole Somerton turned to stare at Dyne. The Alcandian warrior was often silent. He dedicated his life to service among the law-keeping warriors called Judgment Officials. Along with the maroon coat he wore with its black edging came a no-joking attitude towards words like “mission”. The warrior was dead serious and Cole felt himself leaping towards the chance to prove himself. His own “uniform” calf-length coat was a lighter shade of maroon, denoting his training status among the Judgment Officials. They were the law-keeping body that maintained order on a planet full of warriors. “It would be an honor to serve with you.” Dyne nodded approval of the polite response. Cole watched his eyes move over him in a light inspection before Dyne handed over an inter-dimensional beacon.

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“It seems that many humans truly are emerging past their current levels of perception.” Dyne watched Cole attach the beacon above his communication wristband. The two devices worked together when using the newly created wormhole to reach Earth. Alcandar had no intentions of being denied access to Earth. They had rebuilt after the first wormhole was destroyed. The Alcandians held the advantage of technology. They might have invaded Earth but they chose a slow, undetected form of infiltration. Warriors who were willing to risk being caught on Earth could apply for travel privilege in order to search for a mate. The rules were strict concerning removal of any human but the list of waiting warriors was long. Harsh penalties for misconduct didn’t stop Alcandian warriors from braving anything in order to connect with a female their minds could brush. Dyne’s voice grew somber. “Cassandra has broken through the block I placed in her memory. We must detain her. You have been charged with the duty. I will observe and stand as your partner during the mission.” A chill went down Cole’s spine but it shot back up his body in a rush of heat. He frowned as her face flashed immediately into his mind. Kidnapping her again wasn’t something he wanted. In fact it made him angry that anyone was thinking about it, much less ordering it done. Dyne stiffened as he caught the anger through their mind link. Among Alcandians, privacy was a bit of an outdated idea. Honor and honesty went hand in hand here. That meant your fellow Judgment Official often just scanned your thoughts while you stood talking. Once he joined the ranks completely, he would have to link with a partner. It was the tightest bond, something that would allow them to be an even more effective team. It would take him through life, even into any union he might share with a female.

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Alcandian bonding unions were not monogamous. With so many males, it only made sense that at least two warriors shared a female. But even that still left many warriors braving death on an alien planet in order to find a mate. “It must be done.” Dyne expected a fight from him and Cole halfway wanted to give in to the urge to let his right fist speak for him. But his faith in Alcandian honor held his hand. Alcandian warriors treated females with the greatest respect. A mate was claimed from another world only when a mind bridge had been discovered. Warriors had to wait until they faced a female they could link with telepathically before they had the right to bring her back to Alcandar. “She knows the location of the wormhole. Moving it requires too many resources and that cannot be done quickly. We would risk discovery or stranding the warriors who are currently hunting on Earth. The council has decided to remove the female before your former superiors discover her newly remembered information.” Dyne offered him a sympathetic look. “It is expected that you should have this duty since you have already touched her.” And that was a high compliment from the Alcandian Council. They were publicly acknowledging his position as a warrior among them. Honor was sacred to them. When a male touched a female, no other warrior interfered unless the warrior was unable to touch her mind. He was grateful for the respect, but Cassandra was going to spit in his eye. “I could not touch her mind.” “That is not a factor in this mission. She could lead your Earth forces directly to the new portal. We have over a thousand warriors on Earth. The female will have to be removed. She is only one.” Dyne’s face hinted at his own dislike of the assignment but he tightened his emotions and accepted the logic of the decision. “It is possible you may still link now that she has grown beyond her own mental borders. Her mind might have been too immature for you when you last saw her. It is also possible she will link with another warrior. We will strive to make her stay as pleasant as possible.”

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Dyne turned and began walking towards the gate. Cole kept pace with his partner as he tightened his control for the task ahead of him. Distaste filled his mouth but he moved forward because if anyone was going to smash into Cassandra’s life again, it was going to be him. His memory of the sergeant said she was going to consider her relocation to Alcandar as anything but pleasant. However, there was a tiny part of him that was looking forward to locking horns with her feisty determination once again. “Your human judgment force has not been kind to her since her association with you.” “What do you mean?” Dyne lifted an eyebrow as he shot Cole a sideways look. “She has been held under deep suspicion since you returned her. I find the mission acceptable due to their treatment of her. A female should not be treated so harshly.” His fellow humans had offended Dyne. The emotion drifted into his head from the other warrior as they crossed a courtyard and entered the portal gate building. Electric blue light bathed them as they moved forward, and the warriors posted offered them nods of approval. The hairs on his neck stood up as static electricity bathed him. The gate popped and hissed as it surged to life. The open end flickered with different colors of blue and white as the controller set the coordinates with a critical eye. He motioned them forward and the gate pulled them in as they stepped into the flickering light. For a moment time froze. The electric current surged through his nervous system, triggering sensation in every nerve ending. Cole tightened his control and held his arms against his chest to keep them from twitching. His lungs were suspended mid-breath as even his heart paused. The gate dumped them on the dirt floor of a cave deep in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Cole controlled his landing, widening his stance to keep his balance as his ears tried to confuse him by twitching with the residue of wormhole travel. The vertigo dissipated and he straightened up. They moved forward and stopped when 18

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they reached sunlight. A small station had been built over the opening of the cave. A hologram projection covered the opening in the granite rock, making it an effective duck blind from the hikers who sometimes made it into the remote area. Cole began to unhook his Alcandian coat as he and Dyne prepared for their journey into the human world. Hiking clothing was handed to them by the warriors who staffed the station. Everything Alcandian was taken from them except their wristbands. Judgment Officials never took them off. Even in death. Cole looked at the crimson band with its controls. The thing was even able to test his blood to ensure it was on his wrist and not anyone else’s. As far as IDs went, it was foolproof. But here on Earth it posed a possibly deadly problem. Earth had strung Alcandar along for years, assuring them that they were content with the bargain. That meant Rinehart had a lot of intel on just what Alcandians and their technologies looked like. Keeping his wrist covered was key to his success. Cole shrugged into a long-sleeved hiking shirt. He buttoned the cuff as Dyne watched him for the proper procedure needed to dress in the unfamiliar Earth garments. The shirt felt odd on his back. Cole let that fact soak into his brain. Earth wasn’t home for him any longer. The final embrace of that idea really didn’t shake him. His sister was bound to a pair of Alcandians, and his parents had passed away. Serving as a Special Operations Ranger for the military had only landed him on the wrong side of an officer’s word. That made building a life on Alcandar much simpler thing to accept. But nothing was perfect. Picking up a backpack, he stepped through the hologram and onto a hiking trail. He shouldered the pack and snapped the hip belt into place. He loved the outdoors, but today his lips were tightened into a hard line as he began a mission against his own race. The Council was right, he needed to do it. He’d taken Cassandra with Zeva to the new wormhole. It had been his call that sentenced Cassandra to the fate of knowing too much.

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So it was going to be his hand that pulled her into a wormhole—and escape. Right and wrong really didn’t matter when you had to place the safety of others before your own feelings. Shit.

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Chapter Two Cassandra glared at Rinehart’s card the next morning as she waited for her coffeemaker to brew up some quick salvation. She’d kicked around the bed more than slept, and her head was aching with what promised to be a splitting migraine in a few hours. Despite her brain wrestling with her options for most of the night, she was no closer to figuring out what to do. All of her options looked bad. For once she was looking forward to a boring day of warehouse work among men who wouldn’t talk to her. A vicious smile parted her lips. She’d be more than happy to tell anyone who tried to dress her down today just where to shove his cock. Self-righteous bastards! She’d followed Rinehart’s orders to the letter and this was the reward. She glanced around the stark, cell-like apartment. She hadn’t even been allowed to order a kitchen rug from a catalog. It stunk that she’d been reduced to asking to place that order in the first place. They were even whitewashing her personality, just like they did to new recruits reporting for boot camp. You were stripped of everything in order to teach you the value of the team you were going to become a part of. You wore the clothes they gave you, slept when they told you, and every single personal item was shipped back to your next of kin until you proved yourself by graduating. Well, screw them all. She wasn’t picking up the phone to lick his boots. So what if she remembered being abducted? There wasn’t a whole lot anyone could do with old information like that. It wasn’t like she was on speaking terms with Cole Somerton. The man was long gone and he hadn’t left her his card. Too bad. Her eyes rounded with anger as she slammed her coffee mug down onto the tile countertop. She needed to kick that little voice in the ass before she went down any

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road that included even being polite to Cole Somerton. Her nipples tingled and she looked down at her breasts like they belonged to someone else. Lusty dreams were one thing but she was wide awake. She rubbed her palms over her chest and shivered as sensation shot down her spine. Oh Jesus! She needed a vibrator. Maybe she should ask Rinehart if she could order one! But she looked again at the front of her shirt, at her raised nipples, and frowned. The really scary thing was the way she could feel each nipple, and exactly how uncomfortable the fabric of her bra felt against the puckered tips. It should be impossible to be that aroused just by thinking about Cole Somerton. The man had never even kissed her. Yet her body was reacting to him. Cassandra shook her head and picked up her coffee. She wasn’t thinking clearly. Having just remembered her abduction, she was still in shock. That at least made sense, even if it ticked her off once more. She had never gone through the steps of healing needed after an abduction, so she was still emotionally drawn to her kidnapper. Maybe she hated that, but it was logical. She turned and moved towards the front door. At least she could spend the day introducing her mind to the fact that Cole Somerton was a bastard who had tied her up and stuffed her in a trunk. He’d also messed with her mind and was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, a major asshole. Hey, it was a good place to start and she was already in a lousy mood.

***** He really had been on Alcandar too long. Cole felt a self-satisfied grin curve his lips as he surveyed the traffic at the main entrance onto the base he used to call home. He could feel Cassandra, like she was a favorite scent his nose was identifying because he enjoyed it so much. The awareness of that fact twisted through his brain as he moved past the gate, his brain working the problem of just how to enter the

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restricted area. Instead of becoming frustrated, his instincts rose to the challenge of outwitting the security he’d once helped to design. Defeat wasn’t even considered as his eyes closed and his mind filled with the feeling of being close to Cassandra once again. A soft growl shook his chest as his eyes opened and the instinct to hunt took control. Cole let it carry him away from any further consideration of right and wrong. What mattered was the hunt… And the prize.

***** Cassandra burned her hand while cooking. She yelped as she jumped away from her two-burner range top. She’d only tied her cooking apron around her waist, and the top portion of it hooked the pot as she moved, slinging her dinner onto the kitchen floor. The dark red spaghetti sauce was a stark contrast to the dull white of the floor, making the mess look humongous. Well, that placed the cherry on top of her day. She chucked her apron aside before turning to grab a dishrag and begin cleaning up the mess. She indulged her temper as she worked. But it left her emotionally spent by the time she filled a bowl with cold cereal. Anger only lasted so long, and despair was often right on its heels. There was only a single chair in her living room, so she took her cold meal into the bedroom and curled up against the headboard. A small television sat on top of her dresser, which was the only other thing in the room. She left the room silent as she ate. Fending off depression took up most of her attention, and she sat the bowl aside before emptying it. Something had to give. All she needed to do was wrap her fingers around the right crowbar to pry open the box she was in. Maybe Rinehart. The problem was she didn’t trust the man. Getting up, she paced around the room. What she needed was someone on her side. She wanted to call her dad, but her brain

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rejected that idea. He’d worked hard all his life, and this mess could drag him in as fast as it had her. So who? The answer sprang to mind as she looked at the bedroom window. Her blinds were closed but light flickered against the sealed slats. Right across from her housing was the entertainment and relaxation depot. A sort of unwinding spot for the Special Forces coming in. Any team fresh from a mission was restricted to this section of base for a few days in order to reintroduce them to civilian life. Sure, the men who were around heard the stink about her, but right over there were guys fresh in from the field. All she had to do was snag herself an officer equal to Rinehart. That wouldn’t guarantee freedom but it would drag the mess into a larger forum. In the bathroom, Cassandra pulled out a small makeup bag. She eyed her face as she unpacked the bag. It’d been weeks since she bothered to critique her appearance, but tonight she was going to bait her hook and catch an officer. If that meant playing dirty and dangling sex appeal in front of a bunch of newly returned Rangers…well, no plan was perfect.

The club was full of smoke. Apparently, none of the Special Operations guys had heard all the scientific data linking cigarettes to cancer. Or maybe they just figured their lives were far too dangerous to worry about something that might kill them thirty years from now. It wasn’t hard to grab their attention. The moment she arrived, Cassandra became the instant beacon of every set of eyes in the place. Her father would have been proud at the way she walked right through the press of hard, muscle-packed bodies to the bar for a drink. Her eyes slipped over chests and shoulders, looking for a pair of oak leaves instead of stripes. Wrapping her hand around the drink the bartender produced, she

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turned and lifted the glass to her lips so that she could stare over the rim of it at her companions. They weren’t staring at her. No, these sorts of men were more practiced in the art of observation. They continued to talk in soft tones as their eyes cut away from their companions to inspect her. It was a waiting game. They waited on her and she searched the room, looking for the officer who had to be there. Ranger units were tighter than many families. Their commanding officers always unwound along with their men. Segregating themselves by using their superior rank upset the team mentality. That translated into survival for men like these. There was a major in the place, more than one by the number of men lounging around. Cassandra caught her first high-ranking officer as the man was leaving. Despite the smoke filling the place, the man was stepping outside to light up a new cigarette. The front door of the club stood open and she watched him lean back as he lit the end and enjoyed a long drag off it. He rested against the side of the building as he looked at the night sky. The bond between him and his men kept him there, she was sure of it. There was something in his body language that told her he wanted to be anywhere but in the club. A little twinge of guilt hit her, but Cassandra pushed it aside. She didn’t have enough options to be soft. She needed the man and she was the only female in sight, which was the only card she had in her arsenal to play. Besides, he was a Ranger, it wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to get him to lend weight to their case. She was finished waiting on Rinehart. Turning around, she walked towards the back of the club where the restrooms were. She walked right past and ducked out the back door. The night had turned dark, the base lights turned down, so that everything was in shadow. Her eyes hadn’t adjusted, so she paused for a moment along the back of the building. A breeze blew her hair and she grinned as the strands floated and swayed. It had been a long time since she’d left her hair down. A really long time, and a little ripple of sensation moved down

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her spine as she felt the silky-soft strands against her cheek. Maybe it was the hope of changing her circumstances that was firing up her spirit. Cassandra didn’t know and she didn’t much care. All that mattered was the surge of possibility rising in her. That need to climb back onto her feet and demand her fair share. She was going to get it, but the face that unfolded inside her mind wasn’t Rinehart’s as he went down, it was something far more addictive. Cole Somerton paraded through her thoughts like he owned her. That shiver shot down her body again and this time it went straight into her nipples. The tender flesh tingled before each one tightened into a hard point beneath her shirt. She bit into her lower lip as she felt that zip of sensation moving lower until it touched her clit. She was acutely aware of the spark of arousal as it moved through her flesh. She shuddered as she felt a soft throb from the top of her sex. The sensation was deep and completely real. No dream-spun lust that she could attribute to normal, healthy hormones. This was need, and it stemmed from a man she was never going to see again. To hell with it! Maybe she’d just see if the major wanted to join her in a quick round of hot sex. That would take care of her Cole-inspired lust. “You will not do anything of the sort.” Cassandra jumped away from the voice but a large hand jerked her to a halt. Strong fingers curved around her wrist and turned her towards a huge man. She knew him, recognized his scent. Her body shivered as he turned her and bound her to his body. The throb in her clit increased as Cole Somerton emerged from the night like a demon sent to snatch her soul while the world was at the mercy of night creatures. She shook her head as her body bucked against the hold on it. His hand clamped over her mouth as she tried to let out something between a demand and scream. Ten feet away was a group of Rangers. It was insane to think that she was being captured so close to them. Cassandra shook her head violently as she struggled for freedom. Somehow, she knew that Cole wasn’t just playing with her. The note in his voice had been too 26

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commanding. Like an order that she’d regret disobeying. There was no logic to her thinking, only response to the hard body holding her against it. “Stop.” Cole offered her another command in his firm tone. His lips were so close to her ear she felt the brush of his breath against the skin of her face. His head moved so that he was staring down at her face once again and his eyes flashed with a blue light. Cassandra froze as she stared at him. Her mind was playing tricks on her, people’s eyes did not have electric currents running through them. At least not in real life. “You need to delay this until we are back on Alcandar.” She jumped as the second voice came from over her shoulder. Another hard body moved behind her and kept coming until she was sandwiched between both men. Her head didn’t reach either pair of shoulders and a spike of true fear went through her as she strained against them but didn’t gain even a millimeter of space. “Until later.” Cole whispered the word as he stroked his thumb down her cheek while keeping his hand firmly over her mouth to keep her silent. Two more hands grasped her head as something touched her bare neck, right over her carotid artery. Cole watched her as that crazy blue light went through his eyes again. Cassandra stared at it as her body became light, so light she was floating through air. A little sigh got caught as Cole’s hand trapped it against her lips. She pressed a kiss into his palm as the tender surface of her lips enjoyed the warm press of his skin against her own. Her eyelashes fluttered as the hand over her mouth moved and Cole stroked her cheek. She floated right into contented slumber as he caught her sagging body.

Cole savored the feeling of Cassandra’s compliance. Something surged though him, and it felt a whole lot like possessiveness. He bent one knee and lowered his shoulder to take her collapsing body. Dyne replaced the syringe he’d used to administer a sedative inside his pocket to hide any evidence of their presence. Cole listened to the sounds of the men inside. His senses were keener than when he’d last been on Earth. He detected

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more scents, heard tiny details as his body responded to new skills the Alcandian diet had unlocked. Every human held the capacity—accepting that was the first step. Moving away from the building, he laid Cassandra in the cargo space of a flatbed Hummer. A quick jerk of his wrist sent a tarp over her body before Dyne used his wristband to override the electronic ignition system. The engine purred to life as Cole took the driver seat and pulled onto the road. Their stolen base identification cards barely gained a second glance from the sentry on duty at the restricted border before the gate opened and they drove through onto the main base. Cole kept his hands on the steering wheel but he wanted to be in the back stroking Cassandra. Being in contact with her was strangely comforting as they proceeded towards the main gate of the base. He should have been tense, more concerned with making it off base and off Earth. Instead, his brain was focused on the fact that he was going to succeed, almost like he was able to will it into reality. But that wouldn’t get him through the main gate. He forced his face to look calm. Gate sentries looked for current tags and body language. He and Dyne looked like a pair of enlisted men carrying out their duty. Their key to success was making sure the man on duty believed that image. If he looked in the back, they were screwed. Running the gate wasn’t a good option considering the number of helicopters behind him. The Rangers would consider it a little evening entertainment to run them off the road. Cole slowed down and stopped. The soldiers on duty considered them before flashing them a large “C” formed by his right hand. With a bored nod he waved them through the gate and Cole felt his anticipation rise. He shouldn’t have been so pleased with becoming a kidnapper but a grin threatened to curve his lips. They cut through the night, Cassandra oblivious to the journey. That sour taste invaded his mouth again as Cole considered the reality of his completed mission. It meant Cassandra was going to become a prisoner on Alcandar. Despite his distaste for that fact, his body surged with anticipation of battling her emotions on the subject. Anger and desire were close cousins. 28

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That was a harsh idea, but it sprang up from his newly emerging senses. While advancing, Alcandians had discovered triggers hidden in the brain that could be hit to reconnect the logical, evolved male with the hunting instincts that had helped him survive during primitive times. Harnessing both parts of the brain allowed Alcandians to become the warriors they were today—males who cherished honor, and with the ability to be deadly fighters. Their bodies were an extreme meshing of both sides of evolution—the primitive and the advanced. Tonight Cole was enduring the first rush of emotion from those primitive instincts. Learning how to use his extra-keen hearing and improved eyesight hadn’t prepared him for the level of intensity connecting with Cassandra was producing. Her scent was still lingering in his senses. The feel of her lips remembered across his palm. At the moment, he would have torn another man limb from limb for looking at her. His cock was rock-hard and impatient for the drug to release her. He wasn’t thinking, emotion flowed through his veins, sweeping logic away in the current. It was hot and primitive and it felt damn good. He couldn’t wait to tell Cassandra that.

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Chapter Three Alcandar

She felt wonderful. Cassandra stretched and smiled as she filled her nose with sweet spring air. Her eyes popped open and she looked around. It was November. Even in California, spring was a distant dream. Reaching up, she rubbed her eyes and looked around once again. There was no stark little room with its dreary mid-Seventies chest of drawers. Instead, her gaze roamed over a polished tile floor that looked like stone. There was a thick area rug cast over the middle of the room, where three huge padded chairs were faced towards each other, forming a triangle. A window was slid open, explaining the fresh air. Dark blue transparent lengths of some silky fabric fluttered as the breeze blew into the room. The walls were another sort of stone-looking material, like some Greek temple. Rustic, but classical in its beauty. Pushing her body up, she investigated the bed she was lying on. At least she figured it was a bed, but it was round and all the bedding was round as well. There was no headboard and the thing wasn’t touching any walls. It was also huge. She was lying in the center of it, and her feet were a good two feet from the edge and her head three feet from the opposite side. Cassandra rolled to the edge and stood up. A little shiver shook her because lying in the center of the large circle felt a little too much like a sacrifice being positioned on an altar. There were curtains in front of her too. These were thick, velvet-looking in another shade of blue. Moving across the stone tile floor, she ran a fingertip over one and smiled at its smooth texture. Wherever she was, even a coma, it was a feast for the senses. The

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air smelled so…clean. No hint of car fumes, nothing but that sweet-smelling air you only found outside wineries and in national parks. Sound drifted up from behind the blue velvet curtain. Pressing lightly on it, Cassandra discovered that there was only a half wall running the entire length of the room. Plucking the fabric gently, she peeked under the hem as it rose above the top of the half wall. It was finished up like a balcony, with a wide lip to prevent any accidental diving off the second floor. Her breath froze in her lungs as she looked out of her room. Below her was a large open area. There were balconies going around the building, all of them with curtains. Some of the curtains were pulled back to let her see into the rooms. But below was a gathering hall of some kind. Long tables filled it, with benches and chairs. Several huge men sat at those tables. Some were eating and others were talking. Most of them wore maroon-colored clothing of some kind. There wasn’t a crew cut in sight. Shoulderlength hair crowned each male below. Cassandra dropped the blue velvet as she jumped away from the wall. She needed to think! And fast! Fear bubbled up as she looked around the room again and noticed the little foreign details of technology. But her curiosity refused to be drowned by fear. She moved towards the open window and gazed down into a huge courtyard, bounded by graceful columns soaring thirty feet into the air, that would have made the Parthenon blush. Plants were held in large urns atop each column and they were dotted with blue flowers while thick vines twisted down those columns. More of the maroon-clad men walked through that wide expanse of gleaming white stone a floor below her. Their coats were three-quarter length and split up the sides to their hips like those seen in some kind of Japanese martial arts movie. The only thing missing was the katana sword strapped to their backs. Even from her distance, Cassandra noticed how huge they were. There wasn’t a flabby tummy in sight. Having

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lived the last year among the elite of the Army, she noticed the same stance and powerful motion in these men. Wherever she was, she was back among their Special Forces. “Hello, Cassandra.” She shrieked. Cassandra snarled a second after the feminine sound escaped her startled lips. She landed neatly in a balanced stance as she popped around to face the owner of that voice. It was oddly familiar but richer and deeper than her memory. That wasn’t the only thing that had changed about Cole Somerton. Cassandra ran her gaze over the sight in front of her as she resisted the urge to step away from him. Cole had never been a small man or a weak one, but the male waiting just inside the doorway curtain was huge. He had to stand over seven feet tall and his shoulder span was incredibly wide. Seeing others like him from the window hadn’t really impacted her with the true immense size of these people. “I thought you were human.” One side of his mouth twitched in response. He stepped forward and her feet moved away from his imposing stature. She detested the impulse but was too late to stop her body from responding to his presence. “The Alcandians have improved a great many things, including food. While they learned that nature shouldn’t be tampered with often, a little enhancement isn’t misplaced from time to time. I am human.” Well, he didn’t look it. He was wearing one of those maroon coats, but you could just see the amazing condition of his body. She felt petite just sharing the room with him. “Are you hungry?” Her stomach said yes. Cassandra shook her head as she forced her attention to the real problem. She suddenly realized exactly what he’d said.

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“How in the hell did I get here?” To Alcandar. It was a huge idea. It went beyond journey because talking about another world out there in space was a far cry from embracing the reality of being able to place your feet on it. “I abducted you.” Three little words. Cassandra glared at Cole as he closed his mouth and offered her nothing else. No explanation, no reason, just a confession. “Well, you can just ship me back, Cole Somerton. And I mean right now!” Her temper overrode any caution signals her brain might have been sending out. She stomped across the room and stuck a finger out at him. “Overgrown pectorals and all…you will send me home!” She was too close. Cole stiffened as his next breath drew her musk deep into his lungs. He identified her particular scent and his cock twitched as it began to swell. He enjoyed the burn as his eyes narrowed and he remained in place out of sheer willpower. She hissed as he remained silent, and actually stomped her foot in outrage. The finger hovering over his chest tightened into a fist. It was all the excuse he needed to touch her. Every instinct he had was urging him towards her, into contact with her, where he might discover what she tasted like. Her fist was gripped as he turned and wrapped her own arm around her body. His hard body pressed up against her back as his second arm clasped her around her hips to hold her steady. A deep shiver shook her as her back identified his hard erection. It should have been the last thing she wanted to know, instead her clit throbbed approval. “I’m sorry.” “Boy, Somerton, you’ve got a gift for keeping your statements short!” She struggled against his hold, but froze when he stroked her belly with the hand sitting over it. A soothing gesture, meant to gentle her like some kind of unsettled doe. “Why am I here?” She didn’t like the desperation lacing her voice, but she needed to understand. Her body was heating up and her heart was accelerating as her nipples tightened. Maybe it was some form of trauma from being his hostage, but she couldn’t 33

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control the ache in her clit. The arousal was gaining force as he stroked her belly once again before spinning her out of his hold. Cassandra moved out of his reach and glared at him. His face was tight with strain. He crossed his arms over his chest before answering her. “You remembered.” “Yeah. So what? I remember that you tied me up and stuffed me in the trunk of a car. What? You thought you needed to show up and give me a second dose of criminal activity? The first time around wasn’t that great, Somerton. I wasn’t looking for an encore.” One of his eyebrows rose. The curtain behind him moved as a second maroon-clad man entered. Cole shot him a glance before looking back at her. “This is Dyne. He’s a Judgment Official. That’s the law-keeping branch of their armed forces.” Dyne was as large and imposing as Cole, but his eyes were dark and slanted, hinting at Asian blood. Another shiver went down her spine as her memory offered up some of the gossip she’d heard while Zeva was working with her. Breeding mates. The Alcandian warriors wanted contact with Earth in order to seek out mates, and their unions were not monogamous. Cassandra shook off the ideas before they clouded her thinking. “I want to go home.” A direct approach just might be the right ticket to getting out. Dyne moved closer and she ordered her feet to stand in place. Backing down from the hulk wasn’t going to get her what she wanted. “What psychic training techniques have you been practicing?” His question caught her off-guard. “What? I tried a little Japanese meditation, if that’s what you mean.” He nodded approval at her answer and Cassandra suddenly understood.

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“Do you mean to tell me, I broke through some kind of…ah…” “Memory shifting.” Cole moved forward and stopped, making her shift her attention between the two men. “It’s a technique used to move unpleasant experiences to dormant portions of the victim’s mind. Congratulations, Cassandra. Dyne is considered one of the best memory shifters on the planet. Breaking through his work took a lot of skill.” More like dumb luck. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she absorbed Cole’s words. His voice sounded a little too final. She turned her attention to Dyne. “Fine. You’ll just have to do a better job this time around.” His face tightened with an unrelenting look. “My apologies, darmasha, but you have too great a command of your natural psychic abilities.” “My what?” Dyne offered her a grin. A cocky sort of male appreciation of her talents. The kind of look you got from a guy when you managed to change a flat tire without asking for help. “You will also become accustomed to understanding that psychic senses are a reality, although not in the manner your movies portray them. They are simply another sense that can be used to deepen your perception of life.” Cassandra took a step away from the finality of Dyne’s words. She lifted a hand and waved a finger in a negative motion at both of them. “I am not going to get used to anything. So what if I remembered being kidnapped? I can live with the memory. Send me home.” “Send you back to incarceration?” Cole wasn’t trying to be gentle anymore. His voice was edged with harsh displeasure. Cassandra snapped her eyes to his and stiffened as she caught the flare of determination blazing through his. “My life isn’t your problem, Somerton. I want to go home, that’s all you need to think about.”

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“Wrong.” Cole wrapped his fingers around the hand she held in front of her like a shield. For some reason, that gesture abraded his temper, demanding action on his part. Any barrier between them felt wrong. There was an urgency ringing through his head to smash every barrier she erected into bits immediately. He pulled her forward as he stepped towards her, to close the space between them. Savage enjoyment surged through him as her scent became stronger. Her eyes were filled with resentment and anger but there was also a flare of excitement that pleased him immensely. He intended to investigate that interest just as soon as possible and the first step was to make sure she stayed in his world. “On Alcandar, honor is more important than career advancement. We are warriors, Cassandra, and that means a great deal to us. I will not return you to a place where you are mistreated because of other people’s actions.” Her eyes were wide with disbelief. Cole stroked her face with the back of one hand and she shivered as their skin connected. She instantly jerked to break his hold. Cole let her loose before she ended up bruised by his superior strength. That was the warrior in him, that constant control over his body. Alcandian warriors spent their lifetime dedicated to protecting. Even in the grip of passion, a warrior was expected to treat his female gently. One tiny bruise, inflicted without her permission, was intolerable. No excuse accepted. “You’re insane, Somerton.” But she wished she were instead. That way, this wouldn’t be real. A little shock treatment and she’d be just fine. A bolt of electricity would snap her mind back into reality real fast. Her sarcasm failed miserably. Frustration flooded her as she struggled against its suffocating strength. She was powerless to help herself return to Earth. The wound that fact ripped in her heart was raw and painful. She looked at Dyne in the hope of finding some shred of relenting. Instead, the warrior offered her a kind smile. The sort of look you got right before your parents grounded you. Dyne felt superior to her. Both men were justifying their actions

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by thinking it was for her own good. That cast her into the role of a temper-tantrumthrowing child who had no idea it was being told “no” in order to protect it. “My life is my choice. Where is the honor in making me a prisoner here? Isn’t that the same thing you’re accusing Earth of doing to me? That’s not saving me.” “You are not a prisoner here.” Dyne’s eyes were filled with determination as he took a step towards her. “Warriors do not imprison females. But you have seen too much to risk letting that information be passed to your dishonorable brethren. It pleases me to see that your mind is stronger than I first believed.” He spoke the words like a compliment but they bit into her like a whip. A snarl escaped her lips, and Dyne looked surprised by the sound. A second later he lost some of his control over his features as a grin covered his face. A hint of appreciation crossed his eyes before he forced himself to move away from her. “We will end this conversation now. You require time to absorb what has been said. My mother will come and begin to introduce you to the Alcandian lifestyle.” Dyne shot Cole a hard look before he turned and left. The curtain remained open as she watched his back descending a set of stairs. “This is not over.” “Yes, it is.” Cassandra jumped, but was too late. Cole was a breath behind her and he captured her body once more. He turned her neatly so that she ended up with her nose pressed against his chest. Jerking her head up, she snarled as one of his hands caught the back of her head. That flicker of blue shot through his eyes again as her belly was pressed up against his hard cock. There was a shout of approval from her clit as it throbbed with sensation so intense, it was almost painful. The flare of sexual interest was completely misplaced. Her temper rose but still couldn’t banish the way her nipples complained about their layers of clothing. “Let me go, Somerton.”

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“Cole.” He growled the word an inch over her mouth before he licked her lower lip. She shivered as pleasure, sweet and thick, flowed down her spine. He controlled the jerk she used to try and escape his hold before he lowered his mouth and kissed her. A muffled sound of denial got caught as Cole pressed his lips against hers. But it wasn’t a bruising kiss. He controlled it enough to keep their mouths together but stopped short of smashing her lips against her teeth. The hand on the back of her head released, and a second later he grasped her chin to pull her mouth open for his kiss. She lost all track of thought after that. His kiss was forceful, yet controlled. He kissed her deeply, sending his tongue into her mouth to taste her and stroke her own. Pleasure radiated out from the kiss as she actually felt him filling her thoughts, sharing the sensation through more than connecting skin. Panic erupted as she felt every last private thing she valued placed on display. She jerked her knee up, out of reflex and eight years in the Army. She was no Ranger or Special Forces, but she was a damn fine enlisted woman. Cole’s arms sprung open as her knee crushed the soft sacs hanging beneath his cock. But the man didn’t yell. He didn’t cuss. All that escaped his lips was a low growl. Cassandra moved away from him as she listened to the tone of that rumble. It wasn’t angry. It was promising. “Don’t touch me.” She left off the “Somerton” because she just couldn’t take the chance that he’d call her bluff and kiss her again. Not right now. She had to get a grip on her raging sex drive before that happened. That wasn’t being cowardly, it was pure survival instinct. Cole straightened up into a formal stance. He offered her a half bow before he grinned at her. “You enjoy my touch.” There was a flash of male arrogance across his eyes as he considered her flushed face. He turned and left without another word. A sharp reply died on her lips as she forced her temper to recognize the wisdom of letting the man leave. Warrior. 38

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In a way, he really was a warrior. So was Dyne. The word was often misused on Earth, but Cassandra knew what its definition really was. She had witnessed firsthand what some men had deep inside them that made them different to a man just trained to use a gun. Some Rangers were warriors. Their dedication went beyond the “tabs” they got to sew onto their shoulders after completing Ranger training. It was a mindset, something that was lodged in their spirit so that no matter what happened, they would choose honor over personal choice. She turned away from the doorway as the curtain swung into place to offer her some privacy. There was a part of her that needed to curl up and savor the moment while she combed through her fluctuating emotions. Honestly, she hadn’t even known her damn body could be so demanding. Now was one hell of a time to deal with the discovery too. And just why did Cole have to complicate the issue by kissing her?

***** “You should not have touched her.” Dyne was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. Cole felt the weight of his disapproval but he wasn’t sorry. He’d needed to taste her, the urge had been so strong, and it had demanded action. Dyne shook his head. “I only meant that you should have given her more time before awakening a mating need. She has much to adjust to.” Cole felt a tiny twist of guilt move through his enjoyment of that stolen kiss. Oh, he’d taken it from her, no doubt. “You are correct.” Dyne slapped a hand onto his shoulder and offered him a grin. “Not that I have any experience with mates, only years of instruction.” Dyne offered him a look of comradeship. It was something Cole realized he’d missed since his relocation to Alcandar. There were different levels of friendship. Every now and then, you managed to hook up with a team you forged strong ties with. The sort of bond that would support you in combat. It was the reason he was wearing a 39

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maroon coat and training to become a Judgment Official. Maybe he just didn’t know how to live without a team anymore. Hell, he really couldn’t remember life before his military career. There was no glow from that time in his life trying to lure him back. He liked Special Operations, in a way he craved it. Slapping Dyne’s back, Cole offered him a guilty grin. “You’re right. But I’m not apologizing.” A strange look took over Dyne’s face. A serious consideration of something that Cole wasn’t quite sure about, because the warrior snapped the link between their minds shut. “I wouldn’t be sorry either.” Dyne’s voice was hard and almost cryptic. Something burned across Cole’s brain and it felt a lot like he was being crowded away from Cassandra. He shot a hard glance at Dyne and found it being returned. It was a tense moment, one that drew his muscles tight before Dyne broke their eye contact and proceeded down to the eating hall. Cole turned to look back at the piece of fabric hanging between him and Cassandra. Her taste clung to his lips as his appetite began to clamor for another sample. “Cole.” Dyne’s voice was quiet and gruff now. That was a simple reprimand from one warrior to another to respect the Alcandian way of ensuring females were given time to adjust. In this case, to abduction, so Cassandra did not have to deal with his passion. At least not tonight. That thought surprised him and Cole turned to join Dyne. His guilt was making more of the flare of lust than he should be. He was the last male on the planet Cassandra might be interested in, but that fact didn’t keep his thoughts away from her. He forced his feet to move away from her as he fell into step with Dyne.

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Chapter Four “I’m Jessica Somerton.” Cassandra swallowed her snarl because it was really impossible to be steaming mad at a woman who looked like she was due to give birth any second. Jessica offered her a wide smile that betrayed the fact that she knew exactly what Cassandra was thinking. The mother-to-be even placed her hand on her rounded belly to give it a loving pat. “Yes, I’m ready to pop. The last month is the longest.” Jessica moved towards one of the chairs and sat down. She opened her hand and indicated the one across from her. “I really don’t know where to begin, but I think Cole has the right idea of sending me in to greet you instead of Dyne’s mother.” There was a note in the woman’s voice that pricked her curiosity. Cassandra sat on the edge of the seat and glared at her. “Why would Dyne send his mother to deal with me?” “Oh, tradition, and the rather hard fact that the mothers around here love making sure their sons get mates.” “I am not anyone’s mate!” Cassandra clamped her jaw shut as her voice rose. A little heat crossed her cheeks for yelling at the pregnant woman. Jessica only chuckled and held up her hands in surrender. “Like I said, Cole had the right idea getting me over here. It wasn’t too long ago I was in your place. Well, mostly in your place.” “What part of my position were you in?” Cassandra’s gaze dropped to Jessica’s distended tummy as she frowned. The word “mate” was bouncing around inside her head, making her mad enough to take another swing at Cole Somerton for getting her into this mess.

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“The kidnapped part. Only the Army assisted with my abduction. I think I looked about as angry as you do right now.” Cassandra offered Jessica a wide smile. “Good. That will save me the trouble of telling you how sorry I am about your brother’s imminent death. I hope you don’t miss him too much. But I’m going to break his neck.” Jessica laughed, low and husky, then shook her head and rubbed her belly once more. “Just be warned that warriors will enjoy you making any attempt on them. See, they will not touch you first. Honor forbids it right now, but if you take a swing at them, they can…restrain you.” And gentle her. Cassandra bit into her lip as her memory offered up the moment Cole had smoothed his hand over her belly. A little shiver moved over her skin as she recalled how much pleasure that single stroke had given her. If she were a cat, she’d have purred. It had felt that good. “What do you mean, honor prevents them from touching me?” Forewarned was forearmed. At least if she was stuck on Alcandar, she could turn the culture against Cole. It was the first idea she liked about staying on the planet. “Everything on Alcandar revolves around honor.” Jessica pushed her body up out of the chair and moved towards the velvet curtain covering the half of the wall that overlooked the tables below. She reached for a button on a small control panel set into the stone wall and pushed it. The blue fabric swished aside to let them look across the building and down into the hall below. “This balcony room is designed to protect first your honor, and secondly give you peace of mind. Warriors are far stronger than females, even Alcandian females. The blue curtain denotes that you are a maiden.” Cassandra offered Jessica a sour look. “I may not get around too often but I’m no vestal virgin. Will they send me home now?” If it was that simple, she was going to find her last asshole of a boyfriend and give him a blowjob out of sincere gratitude.

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“No, you’re not out of here that simply.” Jessica sighed. “The rules were different when I was claimed, but it’s not about the sex. What matters is the mind bridge. Cole was so angry when he found out I was here. I’m sorry, but he brought you here. But there has to be some kind of major reason why he and Dyne were sent after you. I doubt there’s any loophole around it. My brother hated the fact that my mates deceived me in order to get me here. It’s just not the Alcandian way to abduct women a warrior hasn’t mind-bridged with.” Cassandra didn’t like the little twinge of compassion Jessica’s words bred inside her for Cole. The man was her abductor, twice over. He was the enemy. The word “mindbridge” only pushed her closer to becoming desperate because she’d already dealt with one form of mind messing and wasn’t eager for another round of anyone on the planet getting inside her head. No ripples in the pond… The fish escapes without disturbing the surface of the water. “But there was a way out? What was it?” Jessica rolled her eyes. “You go below into the warriors’ eating hall and offer your body to any and all takers on those tables below.” “You just fuck them in the dining room?” Cassandra slapped a hand over her mouth as the word “fuck” just sailed out. Well, it was the correct word, but it was still a little too harsh for the swollen belly of her company. There were bad things about being an enlisted Army woman. Your mouth resembled a toilet from time to time. You just became immune to it because the predominately male ranks you lived and worked among couldn’t make it through a single hour without cussing. It was an impossibility as far as she could see. If they weren’t actually screwing someone, they were thinking about it. So “fuck” crossed their lips constantly. “That’s right. Alcandian warriors pride themselves on control and honor. A woman who just spreads her body without emotional attachment is unacceptable to them.” Jessica gave her a hard look. “Not that that would help you.”

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“I wasn’t planning on trying it.” Cassandra snapped her mouth shut. Giving out a detail like that was counterproductive to her cause. Jessica was Cole’s blood after all. She needed to watch what she said to the woman. She might have been kidnapped, but she looked pretty darn happy right now. Living too long in captivity could do that to even the strongest-willed woman. Cassandra looked at her with a sense of pity. Jessica was exactly what she intended to avoid becoming. A broken and saddled mare. “Good. That’s a relief.” Jessica shrugged and pointed down at the few men eating at the tables. “See, the half wall means the warriors below will hear any cries you make. That’s Alcandian honor ensuring that stronger males don’t abuse females. The gold curtains show you where bonded units live. Only the elite live in the main hall though. All the warriors eat together. This is the Judgment Hall, they’re the law-keeping force here on Alcandar. Those maroon coats tell you they’re law-keepers. The black-edged ones have the right to kill in the line of duty.” Jessica’s voice trailed off as she kept her eyes on the tables below. Cassandra felt her words like a punch in her gut. If Cole was a law enforcer on this planet, her imprisonment must be legal as far as they saw it. That left her with sagging hope as she tried to figure another avenue to take towards escape. “Let’s go to the women’s hall and eat. I bet you’re hungry. Warriors and females are separated here, at least until you bind. There will only be other women there and maybe children.” “All right.” Any move that helped her learn the lay of the house would be a good one. She wasn’t hungry, in fact, the idea of eating made her nauseous. But getting out of the room and possibly away from the Judgment warriors sounded good. Really good.

***** It wasn’t hard to give Jessica the slip. Cassandra refused to feel guilty for ditching the pregnant woman. Even being human didn’t cut any slack as Cassandra focused her

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energy into escaping her guards. She needed information, facts, and she very much doubted that Jessica would be helping her discover the things she needed to get off Alcandar. The poor woman had accepted it as her home now, so there was no point in even trying to talk sense into her. Living as a long-term captive did that to a person. Cassandra kept her mind focused on that hard scientific fact. But her eyes wandered over the pristine beauty of Alcandar. The air was so clear, like it was when you went backpacking in a national park. No dingy haze from urban smog, just bright sunlight sparkling through the trees. And there were a lot of trees. Everywhere you looked something green was growing. All the columns in the courtyard hosted plants on top and the vines wrapped down their length towards the ground. Every available space was used as a planter and someone was taking really good care of the watering chore, because large, healthy green leaves opened up to the sunlight like you saw in Hawaii. The abundance of plant life just might explain the quality of the air. Cassandra climbed the steps that led away from the building she’d woken up in, and looked over the surrounding area. There were other buildings and more maroonclad warriors moving along the pathways. A few of them noticed her but no one sounded any alarm. That only increased her need to explore. These Alcandians were just too confident in the fact that they had her caged. There were streets with some kind of vehicles too. Cassandra studied them as best she could while she kept walking. She didn’t know where she was going, but more than one prisoner had made their way out of places where they had limited knowledge. She would just have to figure Alcandar out enough to find the wormhole.

***** “Would you two stop?” Jessica tried to step between Cole and her mate Jett but her second mate Dylan hooked an arm neatly under her swollen belly and picked her up.

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Jett shot her a furious glace. “Being your brother does not grant him the right to place you in harm’s way.” “Being my sister means I wouldn’t send her anywhere near something that might be dangerous.” Cole was angry and he really didn’t care if Jett didn’t like his tone of voice. Dyne stepped in front of him, surprising him into silence as he faced off with Jessica’s two mates. Both warriors were seething over the fact that Jessica had been left alone with Cassandra. To their way of thinking, Cassandra was discontented and unpredictable. That made it unsafe for their mate to be alone with her. “There was no danger.” Dyne’s words were calm but hard. The Judgment Official wasn’t willing to listen to any charges of neglect. Jett folded his arms over his chest as he glared at Dyne. “I like it not.” “Well, too bad, Jett! I am not your pet.” Jessica wiggled and glared at her second mate. “Put me down, Dylan, and I mean right now! I’m quite capable of deciding if I want to talk to someone. You may think you know better, but it’s mighty damn hard to be a newly claimed female around here. No one talks to you straight.” Dylan let his mate go as a slight look of sympathy crossed his face. Jett only hissed under his breath. Cole wanted to pull his collar away from his neck because it felt like his coat was shrinking and biting into his throat. Shit. He hated the facts surrounding Cassandra’s arrival. Her opinion really shouldn’t have mattered too much considering what was at stake, but he still didn’t like the fact that she was unhappy. It stank and it was his fault. “Now, boys…” Jessica glared at all four of them. Her forehead was creased with tension as she drew in a deep breath. “I suggest you remember that Cassandra is active Army. Somehow, I don’t think she’s going to be so easy to contain. So, someone better

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keep at least one eye on her. But that’s as far as I am going in helping you with her. Being kidnapped stinks. If she makes your life a living hell, you’ve got it coming.” Jessica lifted an eyebrow as her two mates turned disapproving looks at her. Her lips twisted into a devious grin before she pointed a finger at them. “It stinks like a startled skunk and just because I love you both still doesn’t mean it doesn’t stink!” Jett and Dylan both grinned at her confession of love, and she threw her arms into the air as she huffed. Jessica rolled her eyes before she turned and left them. Jett and Dylan instantly lost their amused expressions as they turned to face Cole and Dyne once again. Dyne surprised him again by taking a step forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with him. It was a stance that proclaimed them a team. Dyne was clearly stating that if the other two warriors wanted to take issue with Cole, they had to deal with both of them. Dylan grunted before he nodded reluctantly. “Best I let my mate have her way in this, but I still do not agree.” “Nor do I.” Jett looked more angry than Dylan did. But the warrior stood with his comrade’s statement and simply continued to glare at them. Dyne considered the two men for a moment. “A warrior thinks differently about a sibling than a mate. Agree that you do not consider your sister Zeva as delicate as you do your mate.” “Zeva is not delicate, but I believe her mates will tell you otherwise. However, I concede the point to you.” Jett lost his glaring look, as a tiny smirk replaced his frown. “We shall see how well you handle your own mate. It is not a simple thing. There is a part of you that will always crave knowing she is buffeted from the ugliness around her. Pampering her becomes a pleasure.” Cole frowned as Jett shot him an amused look before he nodded his head and left with Dylan. They moved swiftly in unison until they overtook Jessica in the lower courtyard. His sister tossed her head as her mates joined her but Cole couldn’t help but

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laugh at her temper. She did love them, he was sure of that, because if he wasn’t he would have made damn sure she didn’t have to stay on Alcandar if she didn’t want to. That left him feeling like an asshole again. “You must give it time, Cole. No one can predict what might come to pass.” Dyne turned to consider him with an odd look on his face. “We have not yet introduced Cassandra to the things that are pleasant about Alcandian life. I believe we should begin with a meal. Females find that relaxing.” “Cassandra might throw it at you instead of eating it.” Dyne looked startled for a moment but then his eyes glowed with the promise of challenge. Cole bristled as he watched the flame of interest. Dyne felt the surge of heat and frowned at him. “I think there is another matter to attend to first, Cole Somerton. Our minds have linked.” Dyne considered him for a moment as Cole felt the other warrior drift through his thoughts. He honestly hadn’t realized just how strong the link was because he was accustomed to the feeling now. In fact, it would feel odd to have it removed. Dyne offered his nod of approval. “I believe we are well suited to each other. It is time you took a partner and wore the coat of a Judgment Official. For that duty, you will need a partner.” Dyne drew himself into a formal stance before he extended his arm out in traditional Alcandian trust. It was a deep honor to receive the gesture from any Alcandian, but having it come from Dyne enhanced the moment to epic proportions. The warrior had his choice of partners among the training warriors. Cole clasped his forearm and felt Dyne’s grip tighten around his wrist and forearm. Dyne nodded stiffly before he spoke. “You understand honor. Blood does not make you a warrior, honor does.” It was a creed that kept an entire race going even in the face of extinction. Their embracing of a code that was considered primitive by many humans. That unwavering

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devotion to live your life by principles. It was the driving force behind his own quest to become a member of the Earth military elite. A burning need to know that he lived his life trying to become the best person he could be. On Alcandar, Cole was going to live that dream as a Judgment Official. As a warrior.

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Chapter Five “You should have changed into some Alcandian clothing if you intended to go unnoticed.” Cassandra spun around, and her drill sergeant would have been proud to see the fighting stance she landed in out of pure instinct. The woman she faced flinched and her arms came up out of reflex too. A hint of appreciation crossed Zeva’s face as she looked at Cassandra. Cassandra stared at Zeva, taking in the details that confirmed that the alien was much happier now than the last time she’d seen her. The word “alien” got stuck in her thoughts as she tried to face the fact that on Alcandar, she was the alien. And the captive. Cassandra shook off the despair that tried to flood her mind. Breaking down wasn’t going to help her. The last year of self-pity parties had certainly proved that. It was the honest truth that she really had no place to call home. But embracing the idea of never seeing her parents again tore at her to continue her battle to return to Earth. Just how to get her life back on track was the main issue. She was currently completely baffled as to where to begin. You needed to decide what you wanted before you could go after it. Zeva was wearing a three-quarter-length coat, similar to the one that Cole and Dyne had been wearing. The female version was tailored to her breasts and buttoned at mid-chest to just below her waist. The sides were slit up to her hips and a baggy pair of pants covered her legs. The outfit looked really comfortable but it was attractive too. The coat was made out of a purple and blue fabric that set off Zeva’s dark hair very well. “Sorry, I guess my abductors forgot to give me the nickel tour. Besides, I like my uniform.” She had earned her uniform. Sucking it up and dressing in Alcandian wear 50

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felt so much like surrender, Cassandra shook her head at the mere idea of it. Her fatigues were staying right where they were at. Zeva moved and the jacket she wore shifted, giving Cassandra a peek at the woman’s rounded tummy. “Is everyone pregnant on this planet?” Her voice was surly, but she suddenly felt trapped in a science-fiction movie complete with a plot to overrun her mind with the local culture. Mate and produce babies. Zeva only rolled her eyes in the face of her grumpy companion. “I guess that comment means Cole sent his sister to talk to you already.” Cassandra shrugged. Zeva closed the gap between them some more, but she didn’t get too close. There was a respect shimmering in her eyes for the training she knew Cassandra had undertaken. Cassandra latched on to that little bit of acknowledgment. “Returning to Alcandar dumped me into the presence of a couple of warriors I had been avoiding.” Zeva flashed her a grin as she shrugged. “In the end, I’m happy, and no, Alcandian females do not spend their lives pregnant. By avoiding my mates, I believe I bred an insecurity in them that prompted them to want a baby immediately.” All the better to chain her… Cassandra bit back her sarcasm. “Well, I hope life is better for you now that you’re home.” Zeva sighed as her face lost all traces of amusement. “It is. But now you are here.” Cassandra lifted her hand towards Zeva. “Easy enough to fix. Why don’t you just direct me towards that wormhole gate thing and then everybody will be happy.” “I can’t do that.” “Won’t is more like it.” Cassandra shrugged as she turned to survey the landscape. “Not that I’m surprised. You never struck me as the turncoat type.” Turning her gaze back to Zeva, Cassandra flashed her a grin. “Still, had to ask. I figured if there’s anyone who might have a soft spot for my plight, it’d be you.”

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Zeva looked uncomfortable, but the Alcandian female didn’t break their eye contact. Cassandra had to admire the pure confidence in her. Not many people shouldered their decisions so completely. “Don’t worry about it. We all have our loyalties.” “And yours are to Earth?” Zeva’s voice revealed a great deal of scorn still clinging to it. “This is a uniform, Zeva. I’m not just a human, I’m a woman who took an oath to support my government. That means a great deal to me.” “That government held me hostage.” Cassandra raised an eyebrow at the venom in Zeva’s tone. Spreading her arms wide, she watched the Alcandian woman hiss with frustration. “I have the same problem today. Only with your government.” “A good point.” Zeva took a deep breath as she considered her with a glimmer of pity in her dark eyes. “Oh, save it. I don’t need anyone feeling sorry for me.” Cassandra picked one foot up and fell into a march. Army brats learned one thing fast, self-pity was a concrete block just dragging you down. Frustration was tearing at her control, making the idea of getting away from the current conversation a pleasant idea. She’d deal with her emotions all by herself. Just like Zeva had done when their roles were reversed. At least she might center her attention on the fact that Zeva had managed to make it home. “Being angry will not help you adjust.” Zeva wasn’t following her, maybe because at least one Alcandian did understand exactly how she felt. That made it important to make sure Zeva had a clear picture of her resolve. “Adjusting is just another word for surrender. I don’t recall you ever adjusting to Earth.”

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***** Alcandar got cold once the sun began to set. Cassandra considered the field below her as the shadows grew long and the light began to fade. Her eyes were focused on a training class. It was filled with maroon-clad warriors, their long overcoats draped over a stone half wall as neat as any Ranger training course. Their chests were bare and absolutely incredible. Mother Nature was a collaborating saboteur because the female in her had her eyes tracing those hard muscles with appreciation. The men below her were extreme. Each chest was corded and cut with defined muscle. It was almost like opening a medical book and being able to clearly see each muscle as it worked. These men worked hard enough to burn off the body fat that often hid a man’s strength. They were lean and moved with a deadly form that would have impressed Master Lee. Actually, warriors. She could see the connection. There had to be two hundred of them, all flowing in a harsh, yet somewhat graceful, deadly form of combat exercise. A sort of a morbid fascination held her there. Watching them practice what was clearly proof of their superior strength when she was currently being held by that power. But her eyes still followed them as they moved. Hell, it was a single girl’s dream. No flab to hide the brawn. There was a buffet of beefcake down there that any woman who wasn’t dead would want to feast her eyes on. The face that filled her mind made her snarl. Cole’s face sprang up in vivid color as she cussed at her own memory. A little tingle twisted through her nipples, making her temper boil as she turned her back on the warriors below her and all she saw in her mind was Cole. Heat teased her passage as she recalled just how hard Cole was beneath that maroon coat. His pectorals must be cut like granite… Cassandra cussed low and hot enough that even her dad would have lifted an eyebrow at her command of profanity. For her mother, on the other hand, the words would have blistered her ears. A touch of heat bled across her face as she considered that. Dissolving into behavior that would shame her parents wasn’t acceptable.

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The light was fading fast and that left her with a new dilemma. This one was very real. Being caught outside in unknown territory was ill-advised. But that left her with the only option of returning to the room that she had woken up in, and Cole. And Dyne… The second warrior moved through her memory as another blush heated her face. She frowned and lifted a hand to stroke the side of her face. The skin was actually hot, astounding her. Blushing over a memory was really extreme, especially since this recollection was nothing passionate. So what if Cole had kissed her? It wasn’t mindshattering. A little chuckle left her lips as she considered the fact that a really good kiss should be disruptive. At least in fantasies, the right man could knock your socks off with the right press of lips. It was really too bad that reality shattered fiction when the two collided. “Was that an actual laugh?” Cassandra gasped and jumped back. Cole emerged from a shadow like a demon, complete with the radiation of power that went along with nightmare tales. She clamped her jaw shut as she tried to gain a handle on her racing emotions. Her heart was suddenly pounding away as though she’d been running instead of practically standing still. “Ironic satirical enjoyment of the moment.” Cassandra offered him a sarcastic shrug of her shoulders with her comment. One of his eyebrows rose as Cole crossed his arms over his chest. Something new caught her eye as his uniform coat pulled back from his right wrist to display a two-inch-wide wristband that looked vastly different from the one he’d been wearing that morning. Her gaze tried to linger on the slight view of corded strength along his forearm before she forced her attention to his jacket. It was deep maroon now with a black edging. “The black edging means they have the authority to kill…”

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Her memory yielded that detail instantly as she looked at the way the uniform coat suited Cole. The next word that flashed through her brain was “warrior” and it stuck like tar. “Get pinned today?” Cole couldn’t help but enjoy the military term for newly applied rank. The first time you got to wear a new rank insignia, it was pinned on you, usually by a family member. Today had been a bittersweet moment as he donned a Judgment Official uniform without his dad there to hand him the new rank. The way Cassandra’s eyes lingered on his chest chased any melancholy away as heat rose in his cock. It was an immediate reaction to her and somewhat startling. “Pinned?” Cassandra jumped and cussed under her breath as she swung around to find Dyne considering her. The second warrior offered her a small pleased expression for having approached her without her notice. Forgetting that these Alcandians worked in teams was a really big detail to overlook. As in really stupid. “It’s an Earth military term for promotion.” Cole returned his attention to Cassandra. “Yes, I did take a promotion today.” His voice was deep and rich with pride. She could see it shimmering in his eyes and a smile lifted her lips before she clamped her sense down on the friendly expression. He looked good, damn fine, and that was a fact. She’d never seen a Ranger in dress uniform who looked more at home. “Thank you, Cassandra.” Cole’s voice was low and she looked at him suspiciously. “I didn’t congratulate you, Somerton.” He frowned as she tagged his surname onto her comment. Keeping it formal between them felt more secure than letting his name slip over her lips.

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“On Alcandar, we do not use family names. They are a means for record-keeping and portray a distance when used in conversation.” Dyne’s voice was too authoritative for her taste. Cassandra eyed the large male and smiled brightly at him. “Sounds good to me. What’s your family name?” “You will address me as Dyne.” “In your dreams.” The words barely passed her mouth before Dyne was inside her mind. He just appeared there like another sense had suddenly flipped on, flooding her with bright awareness. Her mind stung like your eyes did when you turned on the light in a pitchblack room. Cassandra yelped before she tried to back away from the invasion. She stumbled and landed on her butt instead. The impact was just traveling up her spine to explode against her skull when her body became weightless. Dyne was suddenly surrounding her. His body was rock-solid behind her as she caught the first trace of what he smelled like. Alcandians must produce musk, because the scent of his skin went through her senses and straight into her bloodstream. The little tingle in her nipples became a full tightening that drew both points into hard tips that rasped against her top. He had hooked her under her arms and lifted her off the ground, but the moment her feet touched soil again his arms slid all the way down the length of her arms in a smooth caress that shocked her with just how good his hands felt against her body. Warm breath hit her ear as he reached her hands. “Dyne.” His voice was low but as firm as his body. Her eyes were wide with disbelief at the amount of pleasure surging through her from his touch. “Dyne” felt just right on her tongue but she bit the word back, refusing to be overwhelmed. A warm hand cupped her chin and the skin on her face instantly transmitted how much better skin-on-skin contact was. Cole lifted her head until their eyes meet. That weird blue electricity shot through his eyes as Dyne leaned down next to her ear and actually sniffed her. “Holy hell!” 56

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Cassandra erupted like a ball of fury. She thrust her hands out towards Cole with her fingers curled back for a palm strike to his solar plexus. Her knees bent slightly as she lowered her stance to give her the balance to twist back around and jab her elbow into Dyne. Not a single blow landed. Dyne’s smooth touch tightened instantly around her wrists. He pulled her arms around her own body by her wrists to contain her as he stepped up until they were molded to one another. Pressed against her back, there was absolutely no way to ignore the hard presence of his cock. Cole stepped right up against her front and she faced another hard erection pressing against her crossed forearms. “Let me go!” Her body went into full meltdown mode. A surge of sexual heat burned its way down from her aching nipples to her clit. She actually felt fluid moving down the inside of her passage in the most carnal sensation she had ever experienced. The desire for sex was so thick she could taste it, because it was filling her mind as both males invaded even her thoughts. Two grunts were her response, right before she was free. Her body shuddered violently as it lost the support of the two stronger ones. Cole gripped her arm and kept her on her feet as her boots slipped on the loose soil. She flung off the touch the moment the world stopped spinning. But she shivered as the cool night air bit into her. She was suddenly so damn cold she ached with it. “You must come in now.” Dyne’s voice was soft with apology. She winced at the sound of it because she really believed he was sorry about her current situation. Or at least her opinion of being transplanted to his home world. He wrapped a thick fabric of some sort around her from behind, trapping her arms against her body as he did it, once again immobilizing her. She was acutely aware of how much taller he was than her—the guy had to lean down to speak next to her ear.

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The fact that he kept his words soft only made her snarl with frustration. Dyne smoothed his hands over her pinned arms in response. “It is winter. The temperature will fall dramatically now that we have rotated away from the main star.” Another hand stroked her face. Cassandra jerked her head up and cracked Dyne’s chin in the process. She heard his shift intake of breath as her skull hit him. She gave a jerk against his embrace but he held firm, never granting her even a millimeter of space. They were pressed together, his hard body flush against her and her traitorous body was enjoying the heat. Soaking it up as the outline of his erection drove her clit into a soft throb. Cole stroked her face once again. In the dim light she still saw the way his lips rose into a pleased look that was way too smug for her taste. But where her mind was busy contemplating mass violence on both their hides, her body was shivering and her knees felt weak. But she was still thinking clearly enough to recognize that they had let her go before, simply because she demanded it. Jessica’s words about Alcandian honor rose above her temper and arousal. “Let me go.” Dyne hissed at her command. The sound sent a jolt of excitement through her already aroused body. But he released her and caught her chin as he moved around to face her. Their eyes met for a moment as his hand held her head steady for his gaze. Another bolt of blue light went through his eyes. Cassandra blinked her own eyes and scuttled back away from both of them. Whatever Dyne had wrapped her in, it fell around her ankles as she moved. The chill in the air immediately made itself known as she wrapped her arms around her to hold in as much heat as possible. “Pick up the robe, Cassandra.” Cole’s voice was dangerous. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense to her, but for some reason she was absolutely sure that the man was fighting to keep his hands off her. It was a vain idea at best. She wasn’t exactly the sort of girl who drove men to passionate extremes.

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“Fine. Just keep your paws to yourself. Selves.” Dealing with two men at one time was going to take an adjustment. Cassandra growled as she bent and plucked the crumpled robe off the ground. She wasn’t going to be dealing with them at all. Her nipples could get used to that right now. It was probably the cold anyway. Nipples became hard when they were cold, and right now she was freezing. Wrapping the fabric back around her body, she found the sleeves and hugged the garment close. Her body still shivered as she faced the fact that she was critically low on blood sugar. Her meal this morning had been rushed as she spent more energy finding a way to slip away from the women’s hall and Jessica. Both men watched her as she buttoned the robe. Her nipples tingled again as she shifted in her stance under the intense scrutiny. Her senses were all on high alert for some reason and her nerves were tight with tension. “Happy?” Twin grunts were her response. Dyne and Cole exchanged hard looks with each other before they returned their attention to her. “Let’s go, Cassandra. You can walk or I can haul you back in. But you aren’t spending the night out here without shelter.” Cole sounded like he might enjoy the hauling part of his option. Her pride instantly flared up, but a little trace of fear invaded her desire to spit and fight all the way through her abduction. Cole could and would haul her. The thing that frightened her was the very real response coming from her body. Jessica’s words were bouncing around inside her brain, giving her a headache, but they also granted her a measure of control that she clung to. She had the right to tell them to let her go and the oversized barbarians would abide by her wishes, unless she attacked them. Or refused to comply with their commands. It was a frustrating dilemma. The choice tested her own control as every ounce of Army brat in her demanded an all-out brawl. She wanted to hit and bite and draw blood to satisfy her wounded spirit. It was a really childish need to scream out that she was the wronged party. But just like a child, all that was going to do was get her grounded.

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Her body instantly reminded her of just how hard both their cocks had been, pressing against her. Treating her like a child wasn’t in their plans. That just made them all the more dangerous. There were urges encoded into the flesh that all the practical thinking in the world could never stop. Procreation was just about the most basic of them. A guy might be a total jerk, but if your brain decided he was hot there was no stopping the sexual heat from hitting you. Distance was the only thing that was going to save her from making a really big mistake like getting naked with Cole and Dyne. Because when it came to hot, they were volcanic. Molten-lava temperature, and just as destructive to her life as an active eruption was to anyone living too close to the lava flow. “Fine.” She started moving and ground her teeth together as her clit responded to the motion of her thighs rubbing against each other. She couldn’t remember being so damn aroused in her entire life. If she’d been watching porno movies maybe it might make sense. It had to be some weird psychological reaction to being kidnapped. A survival instinct encoded along with that urge to procreate. The two must be twisted together, making it hard to separate the two needs. Not that that was any help at the moment. Cole forced his pace to mirror Cassandra’s. He battled against a need ripping into his head that frankly amazed him. The four feet he’d allowed her away from him tested his resolve worse than any intense training he’d ever undergone. A hard hand landed on his shoulder as Dyne kept pace with him. A half turn of his head and he looked at his new partner to see a reflection of his own frustration. Heat flashed back from Dyne’s eyes, and the link between their minds let the other male’s arousal bleed into his own thoughts. It drove the heat up another ten degrees as he tightened his fingers into fists. Details and good intentions vaporized in the storm of flames. It was completely consuming, and the only thing Cole ended up holding was the hard reality of just what he intended to do with Cassandra. She was going to be his, happy or not about the

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circumstances. All he knew was that the time between right now and when he might touch her again was way too damn long. She would be his. “Ours.” Dyne’s voice was harsh and low but there was no missing the edge of determination in it. Dyne slid his gaze away from Cassandra to look at Cole. “We are partners.” Which meant Dyne shared the same flare of need that was moving through his bloodstream. It was a side effect of bonding with a partner. Because Alcandians trained and used their psychic senses, linking with a partner made them even more effective as law enforcement personnel. Judgment Officials were the only law-keeping force on Alcandar. Their halls were built at even intervals over the populated sectors, and even on remote portions of the planet. They were the line of defense against invasion, as well as threats from dishonorable citizens. Donning his maroon coat had been the biggest honor of his life. It completed his transfer from Earth to Alcandar. He had become the warrior that he’d always hungered to be. “Yes, ours.” Cole moved forward with clear purpose. He closed the gap between him and Cassandra. She would not become accustomed to him unless he refused to allow her to avoid him. The slightest scent of her arousal hit his nose and he grinned. He opened his mind and felt for her. She stumbled right into Dyne as their minds connected. She glared at him as she pushed away from the steady hand Dyne used to keep her on her feet. “Get out of my head, Somerton.” Dyne made a low sound of disgruntlement. Cassandra turned on him. She’d misjudged how close he was to her and she walked right into his chest. His arms closed around her instantly. Jerking her head up, Cassandra caught a glimpse of smug male satisfaction before his mouth smothered the command she issued to release her. Dyne’s kiss was forceful and hard with demand. He moved his hands up to the back of her head to cradle her skull while he pressed her neck back. A little whimper escaped her throat as Cole stepped up to her back and his hands landed on her hips. His fingers

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curled around her curves as his cock pressed into her back once more. This time, her clit throbbed hard, demanding release from her clothing. Her hands landed on the wide chest in front of her, the fingers spreading wide as temptation became too much to ignore. She needed to feel him—them. Just stroke the hard flesh that her eyes had lingered on. Touch it and absorb the complete strength in both of them. Dyne thrust his tongue into her mouth as her hands indulged in stroking his sculpted pectorals. Someone cleared their throat. Cole and Dyne growled simultaneously. Cassandra jerked her head around to stare at another pair of warriors. They were both sporting the Alcandian Judgment Official maroon uniform. One was light-haired, while the other was dark like Dyne. He moved closer as she stared at him. Cassandra lifted her hands off Dyne and chewed on her thumbnail unconsciously, trying to decide just what it was about this warrior that she knew. Her brain was straining, trying to identify something about him. “Oh hell!” The memory surged forward from the trap door she’d found in her head. The hike through the mountains and the confrontation between Cole and these two warriors. Pushing her way back and away from Cole and Dyne, she watched her memory like a movie as she recalled exactly what had happened in the mountains of California. She knew the location because her dad had taken her backpacking along those trails for years. In fact she knew right where that damn wormhole was hidden. “I believe you remember Ravid and his partner Keenan?” Cole’s voice was somber. Cassandra lifted enraged eyes to his, but returned her attention to Ravid as she absorbed her restored memory. She pointed a finger at Ravid as she grasped the complete reason for her current relocation. She knew too much. That was the kind of information she could see these men wanting to control. The knowledge was like hearing a gavel hit a judge’s desk. The sharp sound piercing her heart with just how critical keeping her might be to them. “I do now.” She didn’t care for how defeated her voice sounded. “Well, you can just move that damn thing you use to planet hop.” Sweeping the four warriors with her

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eyes, she straightened her shoulders. “Since honor is such a fundamental thing around here, you can just take care of this problem without imprisoning me here.” “That would be pointless now.” Ravid crossed his arms across his chest as he spoke. Cassandra moved closer to him and refused to be intimidated by his height or brawn. “Now? What does that mean? Make it happen so I can go home. You’re supposed to enforce the law. Didn’t you show up on Earth ready to kick some ass over Zeva being held against her will?” A little twist of something that felt like regret went through her heart as she fought the urge to turn and look at Cole and Dyne. It almost felt like there was a string pulling on her belt, placing pressure on her to move back towards them. “You are correct, darmasha, but you will remain due to more than the memory that resulted in your presence here. You will understand in time, yet I regret the details of your arrival.” Ravid raised his gaze towards Dyne and Cole. “It is time to return to the hall for the night.” There was some sort of firm authority in his voice aimed at the two warriors who had just been pressing her between them. The kind of reprimand you might expect from your older brother if he caught you kissing out behind the barn. Ravid actually stepped aside and extended one large arm towards the stone courtyard she had crossed that morning. His partner Keenan was the mirror image as Cassandra fought the urge to turn her head to see what Cole and Dyne looked like. She pushed her feet forward instead. She wanted to turn around and move closer to them, an impulse that made absolutely no sense at all. So she moved across the polished stone courtyard without turning her head in spite of the regret moving through her. Separation anxiety was completely misplaced in a captive. But it was way too real to ignore.

“You enjoyed that too much.”

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Zeva emerged from the night to shake her head at her mates. A sheepish grin appeared on Keenan’s face while Ravid outright smirked. She rolled her eyes as she cast a glance at Cole and Dyne. Both warriors were glaring at her mates with the fury of binding fever. “Congratulations, Cole.” The newly promoted warrior hesitated for a moment before answering her as he shifted his gaze from Cassandra in order to concentrate on what Zeva had said. His thoughts were centered on the sway of Cassandra’s hips as she made her way across the courtyard. Her walk was sultry and alluring. Somehow, he’d overlooked that fact before tonight. Taking his eyes off her took a huge amount of effort. The way she moved was sexy as hell. “Thank you.” Ravid tried to secure an arm around Zeva but she only pressed a kiss against his lips before she moved away from him. “I am going to see Cassandra settled in her current chamber.” Ravid frowned. “Are you friends with her?” He moved towards his mate, betraying the fact that the warrior really didn’t want his mate near Cassandra. Cole felt his temper rise. “Cassandra is not dishonorable.” “Yet she considers herself a captive. That makes her unpredictable.” Keenan grasped Zeva’s arm as her attention was on Ravid. She smacked his fingers in reprimand, but her mate did not release her. “Best you allow warriors to deal with her until she is more at peace.” Zeva didn’t think Cassandra was going to be anywhere near the word “peace” for a long time to come. But expecting warriors to understand how a female felt during the initial spark of binding fever and the final embracing of that reality was impossible. Warriors simply expected a female to listen to their ideas about what was meant to be. She understood the frustration that could build inside a female. Her own binding had 64

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been rougher than most, but it was just possible that Cassandra might have managed to take the honor of being the most stubborn female on Alcandar away from her. “I am going in there and best you two understand that now or sleep at the lower tables this night. I am quite capable of fending for myself.” “Not while carrying our babe, you are not.” Ravid crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to budge on the topic. Zeva pushed her lips into a pout before she batted her eyelashes. The feminine gesture was oddly placed on the Alcandian female because she was also a master of defense arts. “Paneil has decided to adopt Cassandra. My mother thinks that since Jessica is bound to her son that makes it her duty to act as guardian to Cole’s intended mate.” Cole felt his blood drain from his face. Paneil was five feet of Alcandian hellfire. Zeva’s mother was an icon among Alcandian mothers. She could kick his butt in two seconds flat using her graceful command of Alcandian feminine wiles and charm. If she chose to adopt Cassandra, he and Dyne could be kept away from her until Paneil decided they might see her. And Zeva had learned a great deal from her mother. She turned an innocent look at Ravid and fluttered her eyelashes again. The veteran Judgment Official squirmed under her look as he frowned at her use of feminine charms. “My mother has sent me to see Cassandra settled. If you don’t like that, Ravid, she is awaiting your communication to discuss the matter.” Zeva turned to look at Keenan. “Your mother agrees it is a good solution to Cassandra’s presence here. Someone needs to see to the matter. It is a woman’s duty. Unless there are charges against her?” “There are not.” Keenan released his mate. “But you know that. It was with regret that we decided to bring her to Alcandar. Yet it was the most logical choice. She is valid in her complaint against us.” “So let us not make it more unpleasant than needed. She does not even know how to adjust the lighting in that chamber, Keenan.” Turning her gaze towards Cole and Dyne, she shook her head. “Clearly Cole and Dyne cannot see to the matter. So I will.” 65

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“I will take care of Cassandra.” Cole barked the comment as Dyne moved forward at the same time. Ravid and Keenan formed a wall to stop them. “You will not.” Zeva spoke in a quiet tone as she looked between her mates. “At least grant her some respect. Since it appears that she is staying on Alcandar.” Cole gritted his teeth, but nodded his head towards Zeva. She was correct. It was inappropriate for warriors to be above stairs on the blue-curtained portions of the hall. While virginity wasn’t a pressing concern for Earth women, once they were on Alcandar, commitment to their intended binding mates became very important. It wasn’t the sex Alcandians cared about controlling. What they valued most was proving that a mind bridge was forming between a female and her warriors. Without that ability to link with each other’s thoughts, the relationship was considered shallow and doomed to failure. By invading her chamber, he and Dyne would be declaring that they were more interested in quick sex. Although sex before facing a formal binding wasn’t unheard of, Alcandians didn’t necessarily see it as a one-way path. What mattered was that the people involved ended up pledging their lives to each other. The details were allowed to flow sometimes, especially when the female had been brought in from another planet. But Cassandra had the final say. Being a warrior meant respecting the female’s wish on intimacy. In short, he and Dyne would be spending the night with their erections and each other. Cole growled as Zeva shot him a look full of triumph. She liked to win, and, for the moment, he had to concede defeat. But only for the moment.

*****

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“What are you planning?” Dyne tried to sound disapproving, but the gleam in his eyes betrayed how much the other warrior detested being separated from Cassandra too. “It’s called a covert operation.” Cole slipped another piece of fruit into a large serving bowl that he’d lifted off one of the food service tables in the warriors’ eating hall. Currently, it held an odd assortment of food that would travel well in a heap. Cole scanned the remaining food choices and reached for a Gilo roll. It was a lot like a tortilla wrap with meat and vegetables pressed against the flat bread. Looking back up, he caught Dyne watching him like an eager recruit awaiting his first deployment. Hefting the bowl a little higher, he gave a quick jerk of his head for Dyne to follow him away from the ears of the other warriors present. Ravid and Keenan had finally left him alone, satisfied that he was not going to pounce on Cassandra the second they turned their backs. His cock thought that sounded like a really great idea. But there was a huge part of him that wanted to tug on her hair and tease her into a reaction. It was a little like playing with your food before you ate it, and Cole decided that he enjoyed the image completely with Cassandra as the main course. She’d hit him for it, which only made him want to voice the idea in her hearing. The need to make sure her attention was centered on him surged through him. It didn’t matter if she was mad or happy with him, as long as she was thinking about him. Dyne drifted into his thoughts and Cole heard a low grumble from the warrior’s chest as he agreed with him. “What is the food for?” “Just a little picnic to help smooth out the tension.” Dyne looked at the bowl full of food but grunted instead. He tightened his control and wiped off the grin that had appeared on his face. “That is dishonorable. We will wait for her to meet us, as tradition dictates.” “Except that Cassandra isn’t Alcandian.” Cole glanced around before continuing. “Don’t expect her to show up for anything that includes a formal acceptance of our suit. 67

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If we want her, my friend, a little strategy will be needed in order to illustrate just how much she might enjoy a relationship with us.” Dyne grinned. His eyes closed to slits as he looked at the bowl. The warrior looked around before reaching for an empty training trieio. It was an Alcandian canteen the warriors took with them out to the training fields. Dyne turned the recently sterilized trieio upright and began filling it with sweet briqth. “I am going to enjoy being your partner, Cole.” Dyne slid him a conspiratorial look. “You do not like waiting any more than I do.”

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Chapter Six Cassandra stomped into the room she’d woken up in and punched the bed. She curled her hands into fists and landed a couple of more blows onto the soft bedding as she clamped her lips tight to contain the scream of outrage she didn’t need sailing through the blue curtain and down to Cole and Dyne. With her recent luck, they’d use the sound as an excuse to run to her rescue and conveniently be alone in a bedchamber with her. Ughh! With the way her clit was begging for attention and her passage was aching, that would be a really bad idea. The sort of thing that just might land her in hot water. It might sting for weeks while you questioned your sanity over a passionate decision. Truthfully, she never made the best of choices when it came to men, her last two boyfriends had been commitment-allergic, and she hadn’t figured that out until after she had managed to fall for them. It left her nursing a sore heart and lamenting her lack of sense when it came to choosing a partner. She wasn’t asking for a hero, just a good old boy who wanted to stick around even when he wasn’t getting laid. “Warriors have that effect on me too.” Zeva spoke from the doorway as she unhooked the curtain and let it swing closed over the door. Cassandra narrowed her eyes as she realized she should have done that chore herself. “Zeva, I’m in a really bad mood.” “Yes, I understand that. I’m here because I am the only one on Alcandar who really does know what you are enduring. The least I can do it explain a few facets of how Alcandar works to you.” Zeva offered her a shrug as she walked right into the chamber. Cassandra jumped as the bed she’d just abused shimmered and straightened itself. The marks from her hands were completely gone now, the circular surface as neat as a boot camp bunk. She 69

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bet a quarter would have flipped off the material. It was the sort of thing her overheated brain just didn’t need at that moment. Passing out in a crumpled heap appealed more than trying to understand another puzzle. “Alcandian homes have advantages. The main computer will straighten that bed the moment you leave it. You need to set the hours you want that function active, or it will do it twenty-six hours a day.” “Twenty-six hours?” Zeva trailed her fingers over another keypad set into the wall next to the window. The dark surface came to life instantly with buttons. She tapped a couple as she nodded. “Yes, there are twenty-six hours in an Alcandian day. I changed the function controls to English, so you can begin to use them.” Cassandra clamped down her surly comment because Zeva was useful. It stung that she didn’t even know how to work the lights. She smoothed out her frown and considered how to gain more information from the Alcandian. Zeva would never betray her people but she might leak enough intel to help her escape the hall undetected. “What else does this computer do?” Zeva lifted an eyebrow. “Tracks your every movement. That includes outside the hall too. Your identification bracelet is always on the grid.” Cassandra controlled her face. She didn’t have any identification bracelet on her. One was glittering on Zeva’s arm and she’d seen a wider one on Cole’s forearm. “Let me show you the bathing pool controls.” There was another little helpful bit of information she needed. Zeva pointed to one of the lit buttons and pressed it. Part of the floor vanished. What looked like a sunken Jacuzzi was sitting in the middle of the stone tile. “I walked across that.” So had Jessica on her way to the chairs earlier. “Our technology is far advanced. But the ego that formed around our knowledge almost exterminated us. Playing with our genes produced stronger bodies, more

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aggressive immune systems, and quicker-learning brain cells. But there were side effects too. Alcandians produce very few females.” “There’re a few men on Earth who could use a lot less sperm altogether.” Zeva chuckled. “I agree. It’s my hope that your Rinehart never fathers offspring. He has no honor.” Cassandra laughed. “That would be nice. But the idea of seeing him castrated is a little more in tune with my emotional state.” Her eyes lingered on the water in the bathing pool. Her skin was coated in sweat and grime. Her feet ached from the miles she’d hiked in her quest to learn the perimeter of her location. A bath sounded absolutely perfect. Zeva chucked in a nasty tone as she nodded agreement. Rinehart and his “human pride” attitude had managed to muck up both their lives rather severely. He was a career-hungry asshole of the worst kind. He didn’t give a damn who he used or stepped on as long as he got what he wanted. Cole and Dyne weren’t like him. Cassandra frowned as that idea skittered through her brain. Both males were right back in her thoughts and her nipples tingled, begging for some attention. “You need to watch this little button.” Zeva knelt next to the tub and passed her hand over another computer pad. This one had been covered by stone tile too but now it lit up. “Hair removal” was written on it. “Press this one and any hair under the water surface will be removed instantly.” “No way.” Cassandra looked at the little computer pad as a wicked image of being completely hairless from the neck down filled her mind. If there wasn’t any wax to deal with she just might have to try it. “Stick your arm in the water.”

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Cassandra did enjoy the fact that Zeva always proved her point. “Okay.” Shrugging out of her robe, she pushed the long sleeve of her fatigue top up and plunged her arm into the water to her elbow. “It’s a little like static.” Zeva’s fingers glided over the control panel to depress the glowing rectangle. A tiny zip of electricity went through the water and her arm. It tingled and was gone almost instantly. Lifting her arm, she watched the tiny blonde hairs flow right off her skin with the water. “Totally cool.” No more razors during beach season! Her elation dissipated in a flash as she considered summer on the shores of California. She had been surfing with her dad since he’d been able to sneak her away from her mother. Her dad carried a picture in his wallet, of her standing on a board at the tender age of four. Despair clamped on to her tired mind and drilled a hole that ached. The tub shimmered, just like the bed had done. “Let me guess, no scrubbing the tub around here either.” “It’s a chore I don’t miss.” Zeva stood up and considered her. Cassandra broke their eye contact as she picked up the robe Cole and Dyne had brought her from the floor. Leaving clothing on the floor just wasn’t in her habits, so she folded it and looked around for wherever clothing was stored. “Behind the chairs.” The silence was uncomfortable. Cassandra listened to her boots on the title and the sound was way too loud. “I’m tired, Zeva.” Sleep was the furthest thing from her thoughts, but being coddled by the Alcandian woman was worse than her own lousy company. Turning around, Cassandra caught a little grin twitching at Zeva’s lips. “No, you’re not, but I leave with one last instruction for you.” “And that is?”

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Zeva’s face went serious. “That heat driving you insane is not the sort of lust you encounter on your planet. It is far more intense.” “Excuse me?” Being at the mercy of her overactive hormones was one thing. Discovering Zeva knew what was going on made her mad. “It infuriated me too. Binding fever is extremely frustrating but it is also unavoidable once it has sparked between a warrior and a female.” “There isn’t any spark going on between me and Cole. Unless you’re talking about my temper. That is currently in full firestorm.” Cassandra crossed her arms over her chest. “You didn’t see blue light in his eyes?” Her forehead creased as she recalled the current of blue light. “I saw it in Dyne’s too. So what?” “But not Ravid’s.” Zeva wasn’t asking a question. Her voice was low but firm with conviction. “Dyne has bound with Cole. They share each other’s thoughts and in this case, what one desires the other one will too. Alcandian unions are not monogamous.” “Yeah, Rinehart was happy to tell me that.” Zeva frowned at her use of that name. “That does not mean we are a planet full of…as you say, ‘kinky’ sex games. Love is considered the deepest bond. The blue light is the first sight of binding fever. Cole and Dyne will not back away from you. Their growing need will only increase. So will yours.” Zeva moved towards the door. She stopped with her hand on the curtain. “You have the right to know. We might not have been friends on Earth, but I respect you, Cassandra. In time, maybe we shall become friends here.” A little sarcastic look took control of her face. “Warriors like to leave human females ignorant of the facts surrounding binding fever. I think that is quite arrogant of them.” Zeva turned and left. Cassandra breathed a sigh of relief for being saved from having to answer.

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Her emotions were swirling around, confusing her with their strength. She had never been so tender or testy before. The stress shouldn’t be affecting her so acutely. If you wanted to survive in the Army, you learned to chill out. But there was a part of her that was fascinated by Zeva’s words. Was it really only Cole and Dyne she could see that blue spark in? It was a really wild idea that fed a few girlhood fantasies about true love. Well, right up until she sat facing two ego-bloated kidnappers anyway. “Look out, Cass-girl…here comes reality again.” She chuckled at her own sarcasm and wrinkled her nose as she caught a whiff of her own dirty skin. Smoothing a hand over her arm, she marveled at the smooth skin. No discomfort, just silky skin. The pool was still visible and it looked way too inviting to her sore body. She glared at the curtain that was a sorry excuse for a door in her opinion. Looking at the three plush armchairs, she pushed one of them across the floor. The thing was heavy and it took all her strength to shove it into the doorway. Maybe it wouldn’t block the view completely but it would give her some warning if company showed up. Two minutes later she was in the water and a little purr escaped her lips. She played with the buttons, pushing different ones as she experimented with different heat levels and combinations. There wasn’t a bar of soap—she pressed a button and the water somehow cleaned all the oil and grime right off her skin. Cassandra hesitated as she considered dunking her head. Her hair was nowhere near the long, lush length that Zeva and Jessica sported but it was her one feminine attribute. Currently it was braided and pinned to her head in compliance with Army dress code. The last thing she wanted was to lose it because of the bathing pool’s ability to remove hair. Lifting her arm, she compared one hand to the other. Tiny blonde hair still covered one hand while the other was smooth. Apparently the pool wasn’t malfunctioning. Pulling the pins out of her hair, she combed her fingers through it before submersing. Covered in water, Master Lee’s fish image sprang to mind, making her laugh. She’d sure like to be able to leave without disturbing the local pond to alert the warriors to her passing. She pushed up out of the water as a twist of pain went through 74

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her heart. It was deep and she shivered as her eyes stung with unshed tears. She stood in shock at the emotional response to leaving Alcandar. Her logical brain struggled to absorb it as the pain bled through her. That sort of tightening in your heart that only someone who had endured a broken heart could understand. Even her temper didn’t rise to help her combat that unexpected reluctance to leave. The pool lost all its allure as she stepped out of it. Water trailed across the tile floor as she moved towards the closet, looking for something to dry off with. She shivered again as the night air blew right in through the open window. “Warriors’ Hall means man temperature,” Cassandra grumbled as she fumbled with a large fluffy fabric that looked sort of like a towel. Cole and Dyne sprang into her thoughts as she struggled to cover her skin. Goose bumps covered her limbs while she fought with the oversized piece of fabric. Thinking about them instantly soothed the ache that had been twisting her heart. She didn’t argue but instead enjoyed recalling exactly how they complemented one another. Cole was blond, Dyne dark. Boy, if they hadn’t kidnapped her she just might be tempted to sample a wild night of ménage fantasy. A girl couldn’t ask for better partners. Her nipples tingled as she recalled exactly how interested both warriors had been in doing exactly that. Their cocks hard and pressing against her, betraying their own emotions even if their faces didn’t tell her very much. At least she wasn’t the only one dealing with the odd attraction. It was meager comfort, but kind of soothing at least from the angle that she could do something about the throb in her clit if she wanted. Well, that wouldn’t be happening any time soon because she was still miffed at Cole and his buddy Dyne. They should have just kept her to begin with. Her eyes widened as she tugged on the fabric and tossed a bunch of it over her shoulder like a toga. Oh great! Just what she needed, her own brain was turning traitor. “The purple one is smaller and constructed for females.”

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Cassandra jumped again. She twisted around and stumbled back a step into the closet. Dyne offered her a satisfied grin right before his eyes surveyed her body. Her skin tingled as his gaze slipped down her length. Dyne didn’t rush either, the warrior knew she was watching him and wanted her to know that he enjoyed looking at her. “Although, I believe the larger one is wiser at this moment.” Dyne’s voice was dark and husky. There was a soft warning edge it that made her passage ache. Cassandra tore her eyes away from Dyne, searching for Cole. Jesus! She had to remember to keep an eye out for the other one. Cole sat the chair down in its original location. She glared at his ability to lift the thing when she’d been reduced to shoving it across the tile. He straightened up and caught her look. “No one will enter without your permission.” “Oh really? Then you two are a figment of my imagination, right?” Cole offered her a shrug as she raised an eyebrow at him. “We are different.” “You will become accustomed to us.” Dyne’s voice was rich with determination now. “On Alcandar we like to begin with sharing a meal to learn about each other.” “Sure, we do that on Earth too. It’s called a date, and I’m not dating you.” Cassandra tried to sound firm but it was really a test of her character considering she was wearing a towel toga and her hair was slowly dripping. The weird thing about it was the way both warriors looked at her. Pleasure lit their eyes, and it wasn’t the sort of look that any male could fake. They were attracted to her—plain, simple and undeniable. It was humbling in a way because she was completely stripped of all of the things that she might normally thought made her attractive. It was just her. About the only thing that she might even consider date-worthy was the fact that she was clean. The knowledge made her uncomfortable as she grappled with a ripple of shame over her surly attitude. Guys who valued a girl for her inner self were rare and definitely not in the jerk category. According to that logic, she should be savoring the encounter, not mouthing off to them. She was suddenly tired. So bloody fatigued she ached with it. 76

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Cassandra gasped as she felt Dyne inside her mind once again. She was too practical to just toss out any possibility of believing in the fact that the warrior could touch her mind. It felt too real. “Excuse me, Dyne, but get out of my head. Please.” The huge warrior actually offered her a half bow but a satisfied smile turned his lips. “You will learn to enjoy the feeling.” That actually frightened her. It was the sort of fear that was half excitement. The way you felt when you were going to attempt a daredevil stunt. Half your body was quivering with a rush of excitement while the logical part of your brain was warning you that you just might be dead before it was over. Spending the night pressed between the two hard, ultra-male bodies just might kill her, but it would be one hell of a ride. “I would enjoy privacy to get dressed.” In response, both warriors simply turned and faced the blue curtain. Their wide backs faced her. Their literal obedience made her temper simmer. Her eyes shot to Cole’s back as she detected a slight tremor in his torso. The brute was amused by his game. “Nice try, Somerton, but you know exactly what I meant.” Cole grabbed her gauntlet before it hit the floor. He turned and moved across the floor with amazing speed. She’d somehow gained a false sense of security, thinking he was at arm’s length. Two seconds after tossing his surname at his back, she was pressed against his frame once again. This time, when their eyes meet, she stared at him, anticipating the blue electric light. It shot through his eyes like lightning in a storm bank, hypnotic in its ability to strike her world without warning or any control. Yeah, that’s exactly what lightning was. Leaning down, Cole actually sniffed her skin next to her ear. His hands tightened slightly around her arms as his chest shook with a rumble. Oh, it was faint but she still caught the growl that rose from his throat. The sound shot down her spine and sent her clit into a tempo that terrified her with its sudden and acute appearance.

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“Let loose.” Her best enlisted Army woman voice flung that command at Cole. His fingers were loosening even as his eyes narrowed with annoyance. Her feet touched the tile and she sighed with relief right before Cole braced his hand on the wall behind her. His scent filled her nose as she frantically tried to clamp down on her own excitement. Heat was surging through her, making her skin ultrasensitive. Just a little touch would feel so good. She shivered as she anticipated Cole stroking her. “Deny you see it, Cassandra.” Cole’s voice was low but that didn’t hide the dangerous note in it. “Give me a reason to prove it to you.” There was no mistaking exactly what “it” was. The need to drop her toga and just be free flowed through her mind. Cole slowly pushed into her thoughts as she raised her eyes and stared into his once again. The temptation to double-check was too much. She watched the blue electricity with fascination this time, actually enjoying the hard reality. Sometimes it was a relief to know that your mind wasn’t playing tricks on you. But that didn’t change her reason for being mad at him. Raging hormones and all, she was not going to let sexual hunger transform her into a doormat for any male. “That wasn’t what made me mad and you know it, Somerton.” Cole’s cheek twitched as she very precisely pronounced his surname, making sure to hit all the syllables. “You understood what I meant when I asked for privacy. Maybe Dyne didn’t but you’re human. Playing stupid just makes you into another piece of brass that’s intent on dicking around with me.” Cole pulled a deep breath into his lungs. Cassandra’s scent flooded his brain as he clamped his attention around her words. She was being blunt and he deserved the kick in the pants. Calling him “brass” was harsh. The nickname for an officer was Cassandra’s way of telling him they would never be able to work their differences out. At least among the Army ranks that was true. “You’re not enlisted here on Alcandar.” Cole forced his hands to push off the wall. “But I was being a dick.”

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“What does that mean?” Dyne wasn’t happy. The warrior frowned at her and she felt a tingle of shame tugging at her cheeks for using so blunt a term, even if it did fit. Stepping away from Cole, Cassandra held on to her toga as she moved across the floor. “It means that there are males in the Army who forget that women can be very helpful and not just on their backs. I said ‘dicking around’ because Cole was thinking with his genitals and I don’t appreciate it.” Moving her eyes between both men, she straightened her spine and refused to budge. “Relationships are more than sexual appeal. You two might be able to corner me, and my body just might be interested in being overwhelmed, but that does not build trust. All it does it prove to me that you two are a pair of dicks who don’t much care about me beyond getting laid.” Harsh but true. She flinched at her own words but stood tall as Dyne and Cole absorbed them. Dyne suddenly grinned at her. “I understand. Your point is well-founded. We should be on equal terms.” His eyes flashed with warning right before he uncrossed his arms and unbuttoned his uniform coat. His fingers moved incredibly fast. “Don’t—” The rest of her protest died a smooth death as Dyne bared his chest. One hundred percent beefcake stood in front of her and her eyes drank in the sight. Her teeth bit into her lower lip as she tried not to notice the way her clit began throbbing again. This time, there was nothing her logic might say that was going to interfere in the heat surging though her blood. It moved down her body and into her belly. A deep need rose from her passage to be filled. “That isn’t what I meant, Dyne.” Her voice was a husky whisper, like something from a Forties movie. Dyne lifted a dark eyebrow at her before he moved closer. He stroked the side of her face with a warm hand and sensation ran through the skin-toskin contact. Pleasure shot down her nerve endings, increasing that need to join him in discarding her towel.

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“What you fail to understand, Cassandra, is that we are as surprised as you. The difference is that I have spent my adult life anticipating the moment that I might encounter my mate. Unlike humans, I have been raised to treasure this moment. You are reacting in shock, while I am eagerly enjoying my surprise.” Dyne fingered the part of the towel she had tossed over her shoulder. He slowly grasped it before pulling it towards him. The weight of it left her shoulder and that allowed the part that was wrapped around her breasts to begin to loosen. He might have snapped it off her, baring her instantly, but the slow motion made it so damn romantic. His words were settling in her heart, building on that idea that he found her attractive, uncombed hair and all. Cole tossed his uniform jacket on top of Dyne’s discarded one, teasing her with the fact that he was also bare-chested behind her. “But I confess to being extremely eager to unwrap my surprise and play with it.” Dyne gave a swift jerk on the towel before he released the corner he held. Gravity was working perfectly on Alcandar. The fabric slithered down her legs to pool around her ankles. His eyes swept her nude body as her breath caught in her throat. She felt both males inside her head as need flared up. It wasn’t a matter of resisting anymore, the distance between their bodies was too much to endure. She craved being pressed against Dyne and there was nothing more important than feeding her desire. “You are perfection, heloni.” Cassandra wasn’t sure what the endearment meant, only that it sounded incredibly sexy. Dyne’s voice was deep and husky. He moved forward and lowered his frame onto one knee. A moment later his hands gently touched her waist. His fingers fanned out, stroking her skin as he moved up towards her bare breasts. A hard chest pressed against her back as Cole joined their embrace. She caught his scent and the two combined in her senses, making her dizzy with the rapture. It was so complete, she willingly let herself drown in it. “Amazing, isn’t it, Cassandra?” Cole leaned over her neck as his hands closed around each of her hips. There was something ultra-intimate about the way he grasped

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her hips—it was a prelude to mating. His hold on her lower body, placing her at his command. A shiver shook her body as Dyne’s hands cupped her breasts. “I’m just as shocked as you are. Did you know that?” Cole leaned closer to her ear before he gently bit the lobe. Dyne’s thumbs rubbed over the hard points of her nipples and she shuddered as pleasure raced down to her clit. Never once had she noticed just how good a man’s hands could feel on her breasts. Cassandra opened her eyes and looked at Dyne. She suddenly understood exactly why his touch sent pleasure coursing through her. He wasn’t groping her. The warrior knelt in front of her and the look on his face was one of complete enjoyment. He wasn’t rushing her through the petting stage so that he could get to the fucking. Cole’s hands on her hips smoothed and massaged, only moving slightly over her belly before he returned to his starting point. The reason was simple. They were seducing her. Never once had she felt as valued as she did right there between them. They weren’t trying to lay her, they were attempting to make love with her. Cole’s lips grazed her neck and she lifted her chin to stretch out the column of her throat for him. A soft chuckle shook his chest as he began to lay a trail of light kisses along the sensitive skin. All of her nerve endings were alive and begging for their moment beneath his lips. Dyne leaned forward and gently licked one of her nipples. She shuddered harshly and Cole smoothed her back into place with his hold on her hips. Dyne growled softly around her nipple as his tongue flicked over it. All of her well-thought-out protests evaporated. There was no need to talk, only to feel. Sensation rose around her and her lovers as her hands stroked Dyne’s shoulders. The warrior muttered an approval as he moved to her opposite breast and licked the hard nipple waiting its turn. Cassandra trailed her fingers over the wide shoulders in front of her as Cole moved his hand lower across her belly. He teased the hair covering her mons as he gently bit her neck. The little bite stung, but the tiny pain increased the level of intensity. She wanted more of their strength.

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A mutter of delight escaped her lips and Cole felt his brain flood with need. He wanted to draw more of the same little sounds from her lips, until she didn’t care what anyone thought and just screamed out her pleasure. It was a blunt craving, one fueled by the male-dominated culture on Alcandar. There was an unspoken respect for the warriors who managed to make their mates heard. But it was more intense than that. What truly drove the desire was the fact that Cassandra couldn’t continue her struggle once he’d proven just how much her body enjoyed his touch. He moved a hand over her belly and right into her slit. She shivered against his hold but her hips gave a small jerk towards his touch. “We promised to introduce you to Alcandian things you’d enjoy, didn’t we, Cassandra?” Her eyes flew open as Cole’s voice hit her. It was full of a dark promise and Dyne released her nipple in response. Dyne looked up at her face as Cole gently fingered her clit. Pleasure shot up her passage as her hips bucked towards that single point of contact, needing more pressure. Panic tried to claim her attention as she felt the unmistakable tightening of an approaching climax. Dyne cupped her chin and forced her gaze to connect with his as Cole began to rub her clit harder. She licked her lower lip as her panting breath dried out the sensitive tissue. “You are more beautiful than any dream, heloni.” Dyne’s voice was rough with emotion. He held her chin steady as a whimper broke through her lips. A hard glint entered his eyes before he let her go. He lifted one of her thighs up into the air as he moved his shoulder under her knee. Cole’s finger slipped away from her clit and she moaned at the loss. Need chewed at her to beg him to return and finish off the climax burning through her. She didn’t have to voice that need. Dyne smoothed her pubic hair away from her slit and leaned towards her. She cried out as his tongue touched her overstimulated clit. Cole caught her chin and turned her face back towards him. His mouth sealed the next cry inside her mouth as Dyne’s

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tongue flicked back and forth over her clit. Dyne cupped one side of her bottom to press her to his mouth. Cole’s tongue thrust deep inside her mouth and her body clenched as pleasure tightened around her clit. The climax broke and she yelled because it was impossible to contain anything. Her body was one huge mass of intensity that refused to be contained. She bucked towards Dyne as Cole clamped her head in place to capture her cry with his kiss. One thick finger penetrated her sheath as the pleasure ripped through her. The walls of her passage tried to grip that digit as she leaned completely on Cole. Her heart was racing as she tried to draw enough oxygen into her lungs to keep up with the muscle. Her body relaxed completely as Dyne withdrew his finger and lowered her thigh. Her face turned scarlet as she recognized exactly what she’d allowed to happen. Cole stroked the burning surface of her face as a cocky grin met her embarrassed look. “This is binding fever. It will only grow more intense.” His eyes flashed with that blue electricity again as he smoothed a thumb over the two little puncture marks on her lower lip from where she’d bitten herself. “But I’m looking forward to it.” “As am I.” Dyne scooped her up. She ended up cradled against his hard chest as he moved across the tile floor. He held her without a hint of strain. Dyne lowered her into the bathing pool. As her feet took her weight he pressed her down into the water until her shoulders were submerged. Dyne sat on the edge of the pool as he grasped her hair in one hand, wrapping the strands around his fist. He stared into her confused gaze as she felt the grip tighten. Leaning over the water, he kissed her. It was a hard kiss that confessed exactly how much he wanted to take complete possession of her. She shivered as he pressed her mouth open for a bold thrust of his tongue. His grip on her hair held her at his mercy as his tongue stabbed into her mouth, stroking her own tongue. Dyne lifted his lips and a current of electricity went through the water. She jumped and stood up. He released her hair as his eyes dropped to her mons. Every hair she had

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was floating away with the motion her movements had made in the pool. “And I do enjoy unwrapping you.” Dyne stood up. His cock was pressing against his pants in prominent display but he took a long step back. “My control is spent. Tomorrow we will continue our introduction, heloni.” Dyne shot her a look full of male determination. It was dark enough that she shivered as a small twist of fear went through her. Determination might not be a strong enough term for what she saw burning in his dark gaze, it looked a lot more like obsession. The warrior grunted approval at her before he turned and grabbed his uniform from where he’d discarded it. He grasped the maroon coat in one huge fist before striding towards the door. His body was stiff with tension as he pushed the blue fabric aside with a harsh motion, betraying just how much he wanted to stay. A small click hit her ears. She turned her attention back to Cole. He had placed a bowl on the small table in the center of the chair arrangement. His face was taut with need as his gaze moved over her nude breasts. He curled his hands into fists as he drew his attention back to her face. “We meant to feed you.” His eyes dropped to her breasts again. “But there is only so much temptation a man can tolerate. I will see you tomorrow, Cassandra.” Cole looked into her eyes and she stepped away from the promise shimmering in his blue eyes. A male in full rut stared back at her. He nodded stiffly before he mimicked his partner and grabbed his uniform jacket. But Cole hesitated at the doorway. He turned his head to stare at her. “Welcome to Alcandar.”

Dyne waited in the stairwell. He was stiffly buttoning his uniform with his feet braced apart. Cole winced as he moved to join his partner. Every fiber in his body was poised on the edge. Cassandra’s taste clung to his lips as her scent lingered in his lungs. Dyne pushed right into his mind and Cole laughed ominously. 84

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“I fear I’m the weaker partner right now, Dyne. The only scrap of control I used to leave that chamber was the sight of watching you walking out. Couldn’t let you show me up our first day officially partnering together.” Dyne snorted. He began to move down the stairs as his hands flexed in and out of fists. “I am ashamed at how little discipline I have left.” He stopped and glared at Cole. “For the amount of time I have spent training for this moment, I have managed to learn very little.” “Well, we’re here. She’s there.” Which was a direct conflict to what his cock wanted. Cole wanted to be deep inside her, teaching her to crave only his touch. Dyne growled at his thoughts. “It is a good thing we have bonded.” The flash of aggression in the other warrior made Cole chuckle. He slapped a hand onto Dyne’s shoulder in traditional Alcandian greeting. “Aye, my partner, it is a good thing. I’d hate to have to kick your ass.” Dyne narrowed his eyes at him. Cole flashed him a grin. “But Cassandra would be worth it.” Dyne huffed before he returned the slap on the shoulder. “Best we leave. My mother will beat us both should we dishonor her future daughter. Paired with Paneil, we will be dead and buried before they are finished with us.” Cole rolled his eyes as he considered the matriarchal power of Alcandian mothers. Dyne wasn’t jesting. The two mothers would reign supreme during the coming days. The entire Judgment population would aid the two in anything they demanded, even if that meant containing him and Dyne. Alcandians were ferociously protective of the female during binding fever. While warriors were trained to control their need to mate, the community would not take any chances. It was their duty to gentle Cassandra into submission. The problem was that Cole didn’t quite see Cassandra taking any form of soothing well. Currently, he’d bet his money on all-out assault the second they tried anything resembling courtship.

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Of course, that opened up the door to becoming creative. That was something he admitted to enjoying. Maybe a little too much. “I will control it.” Cole tossed his words at Dyne in a harsh whisper because they were near the bottom of the stairs. “We will control it.” Dyne shot a satisfied look at Cole. “But we will bring her to pledging.” Cole grunted his reply. Guilt tried to snag his attention but his need smashed through it. Cassandra was here and there was no way she was going back to Earth. She was his mate. He was just going to have to make sure she came to appreciate how incredibly precious that was. In fact, he was looking forward to the challenge.

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Chapter Seven Jessica appeared at daybreak. Cassandra considered being cranky, but shrugged her shoulders because she wasn’t sleeping anyway. She was curled up in one of the oversized chairs. Actually she recognized that they were warrior size. The idea of Dyne or Cole attempting to sit in the little chairs that were provided with her base housing was actually really funny. Largely due to the fact that she’d bet their oversized carcasses would bust the soft pine and they’d end up sprawled on the floor. Now that was really funny. “You look like you’re sneaking around.” That was another amusing thing. Jessica, in her current state of advanced pregnancy, trying to go unnoticed. “Shhhh.” Jessica hurried across the tile as she held a finger up in front of her lips. “My mates are determined to keep me away from you.” Cassandra fluttered her eyelashes in response. “Dangerous, am I?” Jessica dropped into a chair and hissed. “No offense to your pride, but warriors have an inflated protection attitude.” “All the more reason for you to show me the way to that wormhole.” Cassandra fluttered her eyelashes again as Jessica frowned at her. “See, I’ve been an Army gal for just too long. I’d end up killing your brother when he tried that crap out on me. Do yourself a favor and sneak me on over to that gate. That way, your baby will get to know its uncle.” Jessica surprised her by laughing. Her eyes sparkled with her amusement as she rubbed her swollen belly. “Oh my, I remember being that pissed off.” Cassandra frowned and Jessica laughed again only deep and low. Cole’s sister shook her head as she chuckled. “Yeah, I do. See it wasn’t so long ago that the Defense Department was helping Alcandians acquire their chosen mates. Cole was assigned to 87

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that team. That’s how I ran into Dylan.” Jessica’s eyes flashed with a flare of heat. “I recall a certain amount of homicidal urge towards Cole myself. But it won’t change a thing. Trust me on this, that fever is going to be worse today. Leave Alcandar and you will be miserable.” “I’ll take my chances.” Cassandra hissed, because she sounded childishly grumpy even to herself. She still wasn’t any closer to figuring out what she wanted to return to Earth for but that didn’t mean she’d grown any attachment to the idea of staying either. Her empty belly rumbled, saving her from her thoughts. She reached for some of the food Cole and Dyne had left her last night. She’d been too overwhelmed to eat after being left alone. Acute separation anxiety had wrapped around her so tight, she was surprised it hadn’t left marks. It had taken every ounce of pride she owned to keep from running after them like a lost kitten. So, she’d woken up starving. Cold food stacked in a bowl looked fantastic. Since she had no clue what any of it was, she was breaking off bites to sniff and try to determine if it was going to give her food poisoning. “You don’t have to eat that.” Jessica leaned forward and looked at the weirdlooking canteen sitting on the table near the bowl. “Where did you get the trieio? Those are only stored in the men’s…” Jessica’s eyes went wide. “I should have guessed Cole would combine human and Alcandian courting.” The woman stood up amazingly fast and grabbed Cassandra’s hand. “Come on, we need to escape to the women’s hall. That will keep the warriors at bay for a while.” Jessica froze for a moment as she looked at Cassandra. “You know, Alcandian clothing is really very comfortable.” The hint was unmistakable but Cassandra wasn’t taking it. “I’m active duty, Jessica. That means I’m wearing my uniform. Period.”

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Jessica’s face filled with sympathy. The woman turned to hide the expression but Cassandra caught it anyway. Jessica caught her wrist and began leading her towards the curtain. She peeked around the edge before moving it and taking Cassandra down the stairs. It wouldn’t be too hard to escape her grasp but food was a priority at the moment. The cold offering from last night would do, but if there was a way to avoid food poisoning she was all for it. The lower floor was filled with teams of maroon-uniformed warriors. Jessica moved towards a doorway and the thing shimmered before it dissipated in a golden mist. “That’s a new way to open the door.” Jessica offered her a smile as she took her through a back corridor. The color of the walls changed from sandstone brown to sky blue. Jessica continued on until the scent of food drifted around them. Her stomach grumbled loud enough for the other woman to hear. Jessica turned her head and smiled at her. “This is the women’s hall. Alcandian culture is a segregated one. Largely due to that unpredictable binding fever. Younger girls are never permitted near warriors to avoid underage sparks.” Cassandra was caught between the need to argue over her being in the midst of binding fever and the rumbling from her belly. Her stomach won. She followed Jessica towards a food service area. You reached right in through a force field of some kind and pulled the serving of food out. The moment a plate was lifted and removed, the area it had been in flashed bright yellow for a second. “Sanitizing burst. Alcandar is far cleaner than Earth.” “Well, that’s a plus.” Cassandra tried to use her nose to help her make choices. None of the food looked familiar. She settled for taking the smallest portions she could find in an effort to taste as many dishes as she could as well as minimize waste. “I was just as mad as you are. I know that’s probably hard to hear, but it’s true.” Cassandra followed Jessica to a vacant table. Women chatted quietly in small groups as a few toddlers ambled about. There wasn’t a male unless you counted the 89

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children and even those were very young. Apparently even boys didn’t hang out with the women. All the ones in sight had to be under age five. “So warriors aren’t allowed in here? Ever?” Cassandra bit into a flaky-looking Danish. It had a slightly almond flavor and she swallowed it. “With the exception of Judgment Officials.” Cassandra snorted. “Oh, you mean like Dyne and Cole?” Jessica shook her head. “Only in the line of duty. Even claiming you as their mate will not give them the right to invade this hall.” “I am not anyone’s mate.” Another tray appeared next to hers as Zeva sat down alongside her. “Intended mate. But do yourself a favor, Cassandra. Keep your attention on the fact that Cole and Dyne are intent on claiming you. With your lack of experience in Alcandian culture, they will corner you faster if you push the idea out of your head. Warriors, especially Judgment Officials, are relentless. They’ll use your ignorance against you.” “I’ve noticed.” Zeva raised a curious eyebrow as Jessica scowled across the table at her. “There’s a trieio sitting up in Cassandra’s chamber.” Zeva laughed in a low tone that was rich with wicked humor. “My mother is going to adore finding that.” Zeva’s lips pushed into a smirk as she laughed some more. “I can’t wait.” “What is your mother doing in my chamber? Not that I’m claiming ownership.” “Of course not.” Zeva gave her a critical look. Cassandra flung it right back at her. Even if she had spent the night having sex, sex and more sex, there was no way she was going to be criticized by her captors for it. It was her body, she’d share it with whoever she chose. A little ripple of sensation went through her breasts, making her nipples tingle as they began to tighten. What she had decided to do last night had been more intense

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than anything she’d managed to do since turning eighteen. No boyfriend back on Earth had ever made her whimper. Zeva shrugged. “You’ve got a point, I’m being critical. My mother has decided to act as your mother.” “Excuse me?” Cassandra sat her half-eaten pastry aside to glare at Zeva. “Everything is segregated here, Cassandra. Believe me, you want a pair of mothers between you and those warriors. I wasn’t joking about them being relentless. About the only things they will respect are my mother and Dyne’s mother. Since Cole has no family here and my brother Jett is bonded to Jessica, my mother has, for all intentions, adopted you.” “That’s a really weak link.” Her voice was raspy. Cassandra bit into her lower lip as she tried to clear the emotion from her throat. It was stupid to get upset over something like being adopted. If she didn’t want to accept it, no one could make her call any woman her mother. But it touched her in funny little way. It had been too long since anyone even dared to talk to her. It was amazing what things you missed when you lost them. It had been a solid year since she’d engaged in girl talk. As pathetic as it might be, having Zeva and Jessica noticing she was alive was nice. Really nice. “But it’s more than I had when I was abducted.” Jessica’s voice was firm with memory. She shot a hard look at Cassandra. “Dylan’s and Jett’s mothers just showed up to bathe me. That was a shock.” “Bathe you?” This time she croaked and frowned as her throat began to tighten like she was being strangled. Zeva chuckled as she looked at both human females. “I admit to finding your reaction to bathing funny. Bathing is rarely private here. Only the privileged have their own pools. Most of the women in this hall use the baths provided. Warriors never have their own pools until they bind and then only if they rate a private chamber.”

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Her face was flaming hot and her chest tight. Her lungs were so constricted she would have sworn that a boulder was sitting on top of her sternum. Tears flowed out of her eyes, and it felt like her eyelids were swelling up. Zeva stopped talking as Cassandra gasped for breath, unable to force the weight off her chest enough to inflate her lungs. Horrible reality dawned on her and she shot to her feet only to discover that the allergic reaction was too far along for her to be able to help herself. Her body quivered and shook as anaphylactic shock took control of her nervous system. She fell over as someone began yelling. Concentrating on controlling her right arm, she tried to reach the pocket on her fatigues top. Her fingers brushed the fabric and found nothing there. No hard bulge from her emergency medication that might stop the allergic reaction. Not noticing the first tingles of reaction had been a major mistake. It might just be fatal.

***** “Cassandra?” Cole’s voice was a beacon. Cassandra tried to turn towards it. Her body was spinning around in a vortex of multicolored light. She felt weightless but heavy across her chest. Her arms and legs spun around that heavy point as she struggled to stop. Nausea gripped her, knotting her stomach and sending the tiny amount of food she’d eaten back up. At least vomiting stopped the spinning. Her eyes opened as she emptied her stomach. Covering her mouth with the back of her hand, she stared right into Dyne’s dark eyes. Concern was etched into his face. A worry so deep it touched her. The arm she was leaning across pulled her back against a strong chest. Cole’s hand shook as he stroked her face and applied a wet towel to her mouth. “Lay her back, please.” The command came from a male voice she didn’t recognize. Cole gently eased her back onto an elevated table of some sort. His eyes bore the same worry lines around

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them as he stroked her hair out of her face. The light above her was bright and she squinted as another pair of hands touched her wrist. A thin cylinder was pressed against her wrist for a moment. Hard pressure registered in her numb brain before the thing was removed. Her brain went fuzzy and her hand reached for Cole as she felt her grip on consciousness slipping. She needed his strength, but she needed Dyne too. Her other hand reached for the dark warrior as her vision faded. She struggled against it until she felt the hard touch of Dyne’s hand against her own. Cole muttered against her ear as Dyne’s Alcandian endearment filled her other ear. She drifted back into oblivion with heloni echoing softly inside her brain. Cassandra sighed as she gripped both warriors. Her warriors.

***** “You are sure the medical official checked everything?” Dyne gritted his teeth as his mother demanded the same information from him, once again. Cambria refused to be denied, stepping right up next to him to make sure she heard his answer. “Yes, Mother. I would never have left with even a single doubt. Once was more than enough for me. I believe I will enjoy it if our lives are bland and uneventful hence forward.” Paneil offered him a sympathetic look. “I can well imagine. But the council that ordered her transport here should have considered something like this.” Cole flinched. There was one major advantage to the Alcandians being in contact with Earth. Any woman brought through the wormhole arrived with a full background that included medical files. Hell, his own sister had been processed through that system but Cassandra hadn’t. The lack of consideration he and the rest of the Judgment Council paid to that had almost been fatal. One of the hazards of enhanced food through gene splicing was that sometimes humans with allergies didn’t fare well. Cassandra’s system had responded to her breakfast the same way it would if a fire ant bit her. A simple injection was enough to recode the immune system. He’d had that same injection the

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first time he’d stepped onto Alcandar. He’d failed to remember that fact in a timely fashion. Dyne flashed him a hard look. “You still think as a lone warrior too much.” Cole shrugged. “When it comes to Cassandra, I’m afraid it’s going to take a lot of practice to stop. I’m human. I should have remembered.” “And I was greeting you when you arrived that first time. I should have recalled policy.” Dyne clutched his jaw tighter as the two mothers fluttered around Cassandra. She was still sleeping, but the two females refused to leave. At least that was something Cole understood. He’d tolerate their fussing just as long as he could watch Cassandra’s lungs working. His heart was still weak from the shock of finding her gasping for breath on the floor of the women’s hall. It was a sight he was sure was branded into his memory. He was also certain that he’d never once been so scared in his entire life. A gun threatening his head didn’t pack nearly a tenth of the impact watching Cassandra battle to survive had. And the culprit had been his own stupidity. “She needs rest,” Dyne growled and both mothers jumped. They shared a long glance with one another before Cambria grasped Paneil’s hand. “We will let her rest. The Yedith will return tomorrow to hear your vows.” Neither Cole nor Dyne was interested in missing their first set of vows. It wasn’t a reluctance to commit that made them that way, it was the facts surrounding the delay. Cole sat on the edge of Cassandra’s bed and stroked her arm. She sighed and turned towards him. It was an unconscious motion born from trust. He couldn’t help but grin as the way she snuggled closer to his frame. Alcandian tradition said he should not be in her bed if he hadn’t faced the Yedith, but he needed to be near her. The formal vows could wait. Tonight marked the time that he and Dyne were expected to stand in front of their peers and declare that they held no commitments to any other. Cassandra was expected to join them in declaring herself free to bind with them if she decided to do so. 94

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Dyne snarled softly before he joined them on the other side of the bed. His hand landed on the curve of Cassandra’s hip, stroking her gently as she sighed again. “Since you are human, I agree that our binding should be a merging of both our traditions.” It was more excuse than fact but Dyne was content with it. It was not as if either he or Cole intended dishonor to Cassandra. He would gladly bind with her tonight if that were her wish. The merging of their thoughts was more than sufficient to convince him. For a male who had grown up among the harsh reality of an unbalanced gender population, he considered the growing binding fever the most precious of gifts. Dyne fully intended to treasure it accordingly. “I’m not leaving her tonight either, the Yedith be damned.” Cole stared straight at Dyne as he spoke. Alcandian tradition or not, he was honest enough to admit his intentions. Dyne clicked his tongue in reprimand. “Careful, Cole. I understand Paneil has decided to call Cassandra daughter.” Cole narrowed his eyes, but couldn’t hold on to his displeasure when Cassandra sighed and snuggled right up against him. He stared in stunned delight as one of her hands reached for him and landed on top of his hand. She rubbed her cheek against the bedding before frowning and wiggling closer to his body. Dyne grinned at the little unconscious motions. Trust wasn’t something you could force. It either grew or it didn’t. Tonight, even Cassandra couldn’t control her response as she snuggled up against them both and sighed with enjoyment. It was the sweetest damn sound either male had ever heard.

***** She ached. Cassandra opened her eyes and softly moaned. Her brain was working a little too well, offering up the memory of what had made her body so sore. An extreme reaction

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like that drew every muscle into tight straining cords that would hurt like hell for the next few days. But she was still alive. That was a surprise. So was the warm skin beneath her hand. Crisp hair met her fingers as Cole stirred. The room was dark but the flash of blue in his eyes lit it up for a moment. A warm hand clasped hers as she caught the hint of a grin on his lips. “Is that always going to happen? The blue light?” Her voice was husky from the reaction. Cassandra swallowed as Dyne moved slightly behind her. She was lying between them on the circular bed. She knew it was Dyne behind her, she could actually tell by his scent. Cole’s mixed with it inside her lungs, triggering a response from her body. Sensation tingled all over her skin as it begged to be stroked. “Yes. It is something only mind-bridging mates can see in each other.” Dyne placed a kiss on her shoulder as he answered her. Cole watched her in the dark as Dyne slid his hand down her arm. The grin grew broader as Cole lifted her hand and gently bit the sensitive skin of her inner wrist. “I’m still learning about it myself. But I see it in your eyes too.” Cassandra suddenly realized that she was completely naked. It wasn’t shock that alerted her to her lack of clothing, it was pure delight. Her skin was ultrasensitive. She could feel the body heat of her two bed partners, and every inch of her wanted to be in contact with their bare skin. But both warriors were still wearing their pants. That fact drilled into her heart. The respect they demonstrated by keeping their pants on filled her with a sense of being cherished. She suddenly detested those pants. Cole licked the spot on her wrist that he’d bitten. She shivered as pleasure raced down her arm, raising goose bumps along the limb. Her clit throbbed, making her want to shift her thighs so that they might open and allow the little bundle of nerve endings to be touched again. Dyne’s hands tightened on 96

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her hip as he leaned over her and drew a deep breath into his chest. His eyes opened and blue electricity shot through them. A deep male groan made her shift as he smoothed his hand over her lower belly. “The scent of your body drives me insane.” It was a hard statement of fact. Dyne didn’t think that he’d ever been tested so greatly before. His cock was harder than he could ever recall it being. The scent from her body rose to taunt him with the knowledge that she was wet in response to her mates. Dark urges tried to overpower every principle he owned. “If you wish us to leave, heloni, say so now.” It was an impossible order to force past the heat rising in her blood. Her body vetoed anything that might separate her from the two males. Her hands reached for each one, a little sigh of delight moving through her lips as her fingers stroked hard chests coated in crisp hair. That hair appealed to her immensely just then, it made them more male, stronger and better suited as lovers. Cole caught her chin and angled her face towards his. She shivered as Dyne’s hand on her belly pressed her flat onto her back. Both males were propped up and leaning over her. A little wave of apprehension swept through her. She was so exposed right then. Both men were shadows, but that made it ultra-exciting because they were hidden there in the night, with no rules. Temptation taunted her with the fact that she could simply indulge and let them cater to her passion. “Silence isn’t good enough, Cassandra.” Cole’s breath teased her lips and the sensitive skin begged for a kiss. Cole denied her that as he impressed his will on her. “Tell us to make love to you.” He pressed a single kiss onto her mouth. “Say yes.” Dyne’s hand hovered at the top of her recently bared mons. He didn’t touch the newly exposed skin, and her clit twisted with need as Dyne turned his attention to her face. Blue fire crackled through his eyes as he denied her any further stroking until she granted them both a verbal agreement. A declaration really. Maybe they were encased in the night, but between them her consent would be remembered. There would be no turning back once she admitted to her need for them.

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“Yes.” She refused to think about her choice. The word felt so completely right on her tongue as she moved her hands down both chests to their flat abdomens. She didn’t want to lie between them, accepting their touch without stimulating them in return. If she was going out of control, she desperately needed company in the raging storm of need. Instead of surrender, she felt like she was stepping into the vortex at the center of a flame to join the pulsing energy that produced the brilliant light. Her hands slid over the hard bulges of each male’s cock. Two swift intakes of breath marked a moment when the balance shifted and she took up an equal position in their relationship. She would never be used by her captors, but she willingly joined her lovers. Dyne’s hand slid smoothly over her bare mons. A little gasp caught on her lips as pleasure spiraled into her sheath. She would have waxed years ago if she’d had any clue it would feel so intense. But it was more than that. She sensed that truth, but at the moment her brain didn’t want to think. Sensation swept away every idea, except to explore the prime examples of maleness within reach. Cole loomed over her and pressed a hard kiss onto her mouth. His tongue moved over her lower lip before he cupped the back of her neck and lifted gently to tip her head back. He pressed her jaw open to allow his tongue to thrust deep into her mouth, stroking along the length of hers as she tangled hers against his. Her body shifted as a finger entered her slit. Dyne turned and she lost his cock as he lifted her left leg up and over his shoulder. He spread her thighs wide as he gently rubbed her clit. Pleasure twisted through her as she felt his breath hit her delicate center. A whimper left her mouth as he spread her slit wide and licked her clit. His tongue was almost too hot, but the sudden contact made her jerk as her body tried to press up towards his mouth. Cole chuckled as he lifted his mouth away from hers. “Be careful, Cassandra. Remember, a threesome union is considered kinky back on Earth.”

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She punched him in response. Cole pinched her nipple in retaliation. Leaning over her torso, he captured a hard tip between his lips to suckle. A shiver went through her as his hands gripped her chest to keep her breasts in place for his feasting. Kinky or not, she was dying and happy to go. Dyne’s tongue flicked over her clit as her passage tightened and screamed for just a single finger to fill it. Need burned through her as Cole licked and sucked one nipple while the twin complained bitterly. Dyne slowly fingered the opening to her body as her hips lifted towards his mouth. She felt torn to the edges of control, unable to wait another second for complete penetration. “I cannot wait.” Dyne rose above her and Cole released her breast as Dyne clasped her chin and leaned over her. His chest hair teased her nipples, making her lift towards his body. There was a harsh note in his voice that should have frightened her, since he was pressing her down, but all it did was drive her need deeper into her belly. Her womb ached as she whimpered. Dyne captured her wrists and pressed them to the surface of the bed above her head. His hips spread her thighs wide. He still wore his pants but he’d pushed the baggy waist below his cock because the head nudged the wet opening to her body. “Tell me yes again, heloni. Tell me to claim your body completely.” His hands tightened around her wrists as she lifted her hips towards the promise of his hard cock. Blue electricity flashed through his eyes as she opened hers to stare at him. “Yes.” His powerful body moved between her thighs as she clasped him towards her. He didn’t thrust hard into her. Dyne growled softly as he slowly pushed his length into her. Her passage ached as it was stretched around his width, but the desire to be filled overrode the sting. “Jessica told me you were not a maiden.” Dyne froze only partway into her sheath. Cassandra hissed as he held her still beneath his body. Even in the dark she saw the deep frown on his face. “Your body is too tight.”

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“It’s just been a long time.” And along with those large bodies, went large cocks. At that moment, she craved being stretched on Dyne’s. Dyne’s hands shook as he remained frozen. Her body was relaxing around his cock, stretching to accommodate the penetration. He leaned down and gently kissed her as she panted. “Causing you pain is the furthest thing from my desire, heloni.” “I’m all grown up, Dyne. Either finish the job or move aside and let Cole have a turn.” She heard Cole snicker next to her head. Looking up, she caught him watching the way Dyne’s cock was sinking into her body. It should have shocked her, to be on display like that, but it sent a bolt of excitement into her belly. Somehow, he belonged right there. Both men were inside her head as Dyne pulled free of her body and thrust slowly back into her. “Better, Dyne.” He growled softly before kissing her. His hips flexed as he began to ride her with slow strokes. Her body wanted to rush towards release but Dyne refused to allow her any control over the pace. He worked his cock in and out, sinking farther into her body with each thrust. Her eyelids fluttered shut, but both males were firmly linked with her mind. They felt her pleasure rising and cresting into a wave that broke over her body. Dyne tried to avoid being swept into the tumbling current, but his cock thrust deep and she felt his seed begin to spill inside her. The hot spurt of his climax sent her passage into a crazy little contraction. The muscles of her pussy actually tried to milk his length. Pleasure slammed into her brain so hard, she lost track of everything except the pulsing sensation gripping her lower body. Dyne muttered in Alcandian as he collapsed onto his elbows over her. It took a great effort for the warrior to roll aside and not land on top of her. Cassandra rolled over onto her stomach the moment she was free. Cole was still watching her and something flashed inside her brain, a need to push him towards the sort of pleasure he’d just witnessed her being ridden to. 100

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Reaching for his pants, she pulled the waistband down to free his cock. The large staff sprung up from his belly, the head swollen and hard. Stroking the ridge of flesh that went around the head, she leaned forward to lick the slit. Cole groaned through clenched teeth as she trailed her tongue over the head and down the underside of the staff. One of his hands caught her hair and lifted it away from her face as she opened her jaw to take his cock into her mouth. Sucking cock had never been so good. With their minds merging, she felt the little nips of pleasure her mouth sent through Cole’s length. She took more of his cock deeper into her mouth as he groaned and Dyne’s hand landed on her bottom. Despite being satisfied, her passion began to simmer once again as she worked her fingers over the portion of flesh she couldn’t take between her lips. Dyne stroked her bottom and teased her back entrance, startling her. Cole groaned as his cock slipped free from her grasp. She pushed back onto her knees to protect that one forbidden area. Cole reached across the space between them and lifted her. He pulled her towards his body, until her thighs spread wide around his hips and his cock began to enter her. He was kneeling on the bed, and Dyne appeared behind her to hold her up as she was lowered onto his length. “You’ll learn to crave double penetration.” Cole grasped her hips as she was lowered onto his cock completely. His hands were fashioned around each hip as he began to pull her up and off his cock. Dyne stroked her bottom before teasing her ass with one finger. Fluid coated her completely from his possession and he fingered the opening, pressing the tip of one finger into her. “I don’t think so.” She tried to sound firm, but her body quivered with uncertainty. Her clit was throbbing with delight as Cole worked her up and down. “I do.” Cole’s voice was edged with demand. “Think about it, Cassandra. Both of us inside you at the same time. We’d all climax together.” “Oh sweet God.” The idea was so tempting. She just wasn’t sure she could survive. Cole slid her down his length as Dyne thrust one finger completely into her ass. It 101

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pressed the cock in her pussy against her clit, and she shivered as climax began to tingle through her. Cole lifted her and Dyne pressed two fingers up into her as she was pressed down onto Cole’s cock once more. There was no holding off the climax. It ripped through her as Dyne fingered her bottom. Cole lost his grip on control just as Dyne had and his seed pumped up into her womb as her pussy milked him. Satisfaction dragged her under, and she floated in the warm current of sensation. All that mattered were the strong hands that soothed her tired body into alignment with theirs. Cassandra lost track of where her body ended and her lovers’ began. Legs were draped and tangled together as her head lay on one shoulder and her breast was cupped in a strong male hand with a thumb gently brushing the top of the nipple. Their breathing echoed each other as their thoughts remained a mixture of all three. True intimacy surrounded her as she drifted into a deep slumber where there was no question of struggle. The pond was smooth.

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Chapter Eight Her stomach woke her up. The room was still dark, but two days without food and there was no way she could sleep through the rumbling of her belly. But the idea of eating was slightly unnerving. She’d never had a food allergy. Her stomach rumbled again and Cole shifted. His hand smoothed over her belly as he lifted his head and blinked. She was lying between the two warriors, their body heat keeping her warm. “You must be starving.” Dyne rolled off the bed at the same time Cole did. The light level increased the moment movement registered in the main computer, but it was dim night-lighting. Cole and Dyne were busy pulling their coats onto their shoulders, both males having already gotten their pants on before she blinked the slumber from her eyes. It was weird the way they worked together. Her face burned with heat as she considered just how effective that teamwork was when they were in bed together. There was no sign of morning, leaving the room in dim night-lighting. It didn’t appear to bother either warrior. She caught a faint scuffing sound as they stepped into their boots. They finished and locked stares with each other. A battle waged between them for a moment. Cassandra sat up as they both turned to look at her. She fumbled with the sheet, pulling it up to cover her nude body. “I can get my own chow.” Stepping off the bed, she frowned as she looked around for her clothing. “Where are my fatigues?” Twin smug looks covered both men’s faces. “Destroyed. The medical team cut them off you in two seconds flat.” Cole sounded far too pleased by that fact too. Dyne took the opportunity to move towards the door curtain. “I will acquire food. You will have to choose Alcandian garments for your next appearance outside this chamber. Or remain here.” 103

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“Oh, you’d enjoy that too.” Dyne didn’t hear her. The curtain swished as it fell closed behind him and her words were hissed in a near whisper anyway. Her face was still burning because she’d forgotten that the chamber didn’t have any door or even a complete wall. “Yes, I would. As of tomorrow night, this is my chamber as well.” The look on Cole’s face dared her to dispute his claim. Cassandra bit back her reply. No matter what she answered, it was going to sound bad. If she insisted she wasn’t interested in sharing a room with him, the rumpled bed was going to make her into a liar. Turning her head, she noticed that the computer hadn’t replaced the rumpled sheets because it was still before dawn. Tucking the sheet around her body, she moved away from the bed and the blatant reminder of her rather rash impulse to let go of her protests. She rolled a shoulder, attempting to shrug off her concern, but froze as the muscles in her back ached. “What’s wrong?” Cole was next to her instantly. Cassandra jumped away from his sudden invasion of her space. He frowned before hooking her biceps and pulling her back in front of him. “You enjoyed being next to me, babe.” His voice dared her to deny it. “I’m fine.” She shrugged against the hold on her arm but had to bite into her lower lip as pain from sore muscles snaked down her spine. “What hurts?” Cole pulled her sheet right off her body as he turned her to inspect her back. He ran his hand over her shoulders and down her spine, searching for the cause of her aches. “Cassandra? Answer me. Is it really that hard to talk with me? You managed sex without trying to pull away.” “Oh, trust a guy to bring up sex. Like that proves anything.” Cole flashed her a cocky grin in response, but it faded as he smoothed a hand over her back again. This time his touch was a little firmer and it felt delightful. His breath teased her ear as his hands closed around her shoulders to hold her in front of him.

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“It proves a great deal, honey. But I’ll be happy to prove it to you over and over again. In fact, I hope you never get used to the idea.” She shivered. It was a response that made her scowl but she couldn’t deny the way her body quivered with a little ripple of anticipation. Memory flashed across her brain of the way it had felt to be pressed between both hard bodies. Proved? Well, it had spoiled her, that much she would admit. A relationship with a single guy was going to come up short compared to the amazing intensity of the way they had both been focused on her. It was just possible she’d found a reason to remain on Alcandar. Cassandra frowned, she needed to remember that even hot sex wasn’t a good reason to do anything that was going to become permanent in your life. “You know relationships built on sex don’t tend to last very long, Cole.” Her voice was too sad for her taste, but she needed to voice her concern. It was wedged tight against her heart, making it ache as the idea of breaking up loomed in her brain. Cole caught her chin. “It was a whole hell of a lot more than sex and you know it, Cass. Tomorrow we’re going to face a Yedith and take formal vows.” He pressed a hard thumb against her lips to seal them shut. “And you will show up, or we’ll leave you wanting next time. All you have to do is testify that you haven’t made any promises to any other men.” “So what does that prove?” Her back ached when she moved, making her suck her breath in as pain twisted through her back. Cole grunted before reaching across the distance between them and hooking her shoulder with one huge hand. “It declares that all three of us are not playing cheating games and the relationship can proceed if we decide to do so later. Honor really is the foundation of Alcandian society, warriors don’t cheat here, and neither do women.” “Cool.” The word just slipped past her lips. Cole’s hands felt wonderful as they worked the soreness from her back. A little hum of appreciation rose from her throat as she felt the distinct enjoyment from Cole inside her mind. It was the lightest of contacts, 105

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but it sure was intimate. Somehow, it felt completely correct to have him not only touching her, but filling her mind as well. “You are cold?” Dyne joined her thoughts as she straightened up. The scent of food drifted to her nose, overriding her enjoyment of Cole’s back massage. “No, it’s a slang term that means she thinks Alcandian binding customs are agreeable to her.” Cassandra turned and jabbed a finger into Cole’s abdomen. He sprung back from the sharp attack but never stopped grinning at her. “Don’t push your luck, Somerton.” Dyne didn’t like her use of Cole’s last name. She felt his disapproval through their linked thoughts, but refused to make any apologies. Turning around, she moved towards the meal he’d brought her. “You’re going to have to get used to military humor, Dyne.” Considering what he’d brought her, she hesitated before selecting something that looked a lot like a sandwich. There was another flaky pastry like the one she’d eaten that morning and the sight of it made her shudder. “At least you do not know my family name.” Dyne placed the tray he’d used to carry the food on the small table and picked up another sandwich-looking item. Cassandra offered him a smug smile. “Does that mean this Yedith won’t be using your surname tomorrow? Might be a good reason to attend.” Dyne’s eyes flashed. Temper flared across their mind link before he captured her hand and leaned across the space separating them. “I am glad you agree to taking vows.” There was an ominous tone in his voice that sent a shiver down her spine. “I didn’t say that.” Cole burst into her mind a second before he pulled her right out of the chair. Her sheet fluttered to the tile as he clasped her against his hard frame. Smug male arrogance

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flooded her brain from both males. But the emotion that really caught her attention was the relief she felt from the pair of warriors. Sweet, honest relief that she was going to pledge with them. It hit her square in the heart because no man had ever valued her affection so much. It was humbling. Dyne stared at the hard points her nipples had contracted into. He tossed his halfeaten food down as he stood up. A shiver shook her body so hard it was almost frightening. The response to both males was so intense, she felt out of control. They’d already had sex, and there was a part of her that desperately needed to know if once was going to be enough for any of them. Was it lust or binding fever? Heat surged up her body as her clit throbbed for attention again. If anything, it was faster and hotter this time. No flimsy emotion like lust could rekindle so fast. “I’m curious, Cassandra. Exactly what is it you’re so interested in returning to on Earth?” Cole’s voice was edged with frustration as one arm clamped her to his body and his other hand spread out wide over her belly. Her passage ached as he slid that hand all the way down to her recently bared mons. Her clit begged for a touch from his finger but he nipped her ear with his teeth instead. “Rinehart locked you up. There’s nothing waiting for you on Earth, at least nothing as good as what you have right here.” His finger slid into her slit and found her clit. “As our mate you will never suffer loneliness again, heloni. That means beloved and I never use words that I do not mean.” Dyne’s eyes flashed as he opened his uniform coat. He didn’t waste a single second on tossing the garment aside before he closed the gap between them. He cupped her breasts as Cole rubbed her clit. Cassandra gasped as her skin turned hot. She didn’t need any clothing anymore. All she craved was to be just as she was, nude and pressed from toe to head between the equally hard bodies of her warriors. “You can’t love me. You just met me.” She hated how forlorn she sounded.

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Dyne’s eyes flashed once again. The blue lightning was strangely hypnotic and she stared at it as he tightened his grip on her breasts. “Our minds have linked. There can be no greater intimacy between mates. Even if you return to your home world, we will always be in each other’s thoughts. Love is growing between us, a deeper form of it than you will ever find with a human.” Cole rubbed her clit a little harder as his breath teased her ear. “Think about that, Cassandra. Being with another man. Just let the idea cross your mind.” She did and it horrified her. Both warriors chuckled at her response. Dyne tossed his remaining clothing aside and she reached for him instinctively now that they were both bare once again. Cole lifted her so that her arms could slip over his companion’s shoulders. “You see, Cassandra, there isn’t any turning back.” An odd need invaded her heart. She grasped Dyne as Cole lifted her towards him. Dyne released her breasts and caught her thighs. The large warrior easily spread her wide as the head of his cock slipped into the wet folds of her sex. It felt completely natural. To move towards his penetration. His cock thrust hard into her body as Cole pressed her completely onto his length. Dyne took her weight as he cupped each side of her bottom and held her impaled on his cock. She wanted to move but he held her tight. Cole’s maroon jacket went flying onto the bed as Dyne held her, waiting for Cole to join their embrace. “No single male could love you as we will, Cassandra.” Cole stroked her spine and trailed his fingers between the spread cheeks of her bottom. He fingered her rear opening as she gasped but Dyne leaned down to seal her mouth closed with a kiss. Cole teased her bottom for a long moment before he touched her with a lubricant of some kind. He coated the entire area before pressing a finger deep into her. She shivered as sensation raced through her. Being filled in both places pressed Dyne’s cock harder against her clit. A moan broke through Dyne’s kiss as Cole pulled his finger free and applied more lubricant. Dyne lifted his mouth and stared at her as Cole inserted a second finger. He worked both in and out as she shivered.

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“Alcandian females stretch their bottoms from the time of their maturity in anticipation of being shared. You will enjoy being filled completely.” Dyne’s voice was rich with a promise that made her shiver. The cock inside her twitched as Cole removed his fingers. He pressed the head of his cock against her prepared bottom and slowly pressed his cock forward. The skin stretched, and pain zipped through her. Cole froze instantly as he waited for her body to adjust. She didn’t have to say anything, not even a whimper, but she wanted to. She wanted to moan out loud with the excess of sensation. She was astonished to discover her body capable of such heights of pleasure. Cole was right, this wasn’t sex. He chuckled softly next to her ear and his cock left her bottom. He thrust slowly back into her, this time pressing more of his length inside her. Need rose higher, and even the nips of pain as her bottom stretched around his cock weren’t enough to keep her from demanding more action. She needed to move, craved their companionship in feeding the storm of need lashing at her. There was nothing but that craving and the two men who could feed it. The hands on her bottom tightened as Dyne pulled his cock free. Cole thrust forward at the same moment and his cock sank deeper into her body. As Cole pulled loose, Dyne thrust smoothly into her pussy once more. It made for an insane sort of torment. They continued to thrust opposite each other as a need to be impaled at the same time grew in her. Pleasure alternated between the sort she knew as Dyne’s cock rubbed over her clit and the new sensation of having her bottom completely penetrated. She gasped as their speed failed to increase and she recognized why. They were waiting for her to demand it from them, a vocal declaration to end all her protests. Honor might govern the warriors of Alcandar, but they were still male and ruled by their pride. “Together.” They obeyed instantly. Her heart twisted as she felt them push into her at the same time, not because they wanted it, but because she demanded it from them. Pleasure spiked through her as her body protested both cocks lodging inside her at the

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same time. It almost hurt, but not quite and the sensation joined the throbbing in her clit, making her frantic. She tried to buck towards Dyne but his grip controlled her hips completely. Her fingers clawed at his shoulders as she whimpered with need. Opening her eyes, she glared at him but his eyes flashed as he tightened his hold on her hips again. “Tell me you will face the Yedith with us.” Cassandra hit him and cussed. Cole’s hand slapped down on top of her lips as he shushed her. “There is only a half wall, Cassandra. We want your vow, not an excuse for a shotgun wedding.” And Cole had said he’d leave her wanting. That they would leave her… Her body didn’t care about pride and neither did her heart. Just the idea of them exiting the room made her chest hiccup with a tiny sob. The idea slashed pain through her as she tightened her hands around Dyne. But both warriors were iron-clad determined, their bodies holding rigid as they waited for her to answer. But they were worth it. She suddenly realized that sex wasn’t worth anything without the respect. “Yes, I will see your Yedith.” They moved at the same time. Pressing deep into her body as they held her between them. Pleasure spiked and twisted through them, their flesh and they shared it courtesy of the mind link that allowed their thoughts to merge. Cole’s chest shook violently behind her as he held his growl in and Dyne hid his face against her neck as climax made his seed shoot deep into her belly. Cassandra had no idea how many times she climaxed. Pleasure ripped through her and then twisted more as both cocks spurted hot seed into her. For a moment she feared they would just collapse into a heap on the tile floor as their muscles twitched in the aftermath. “We would never drop you.” Dyne’s voice was infused with male pride. He lifted his face from her neck but stopped to press a kiss against her mouth. “So do not fear weakness in us.”

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Her own muscles were a pile of goo. She wanted nothing more than to cuddle up and enjoy the ripples of delight moving through her. But the second Dyne lowered her legs, pain returned as her sore muscles intruded on her bliss. “Did we hurt you?” Cole’s voice was gruff. She tried to shift away from the concern she heard in it. The emotion touched off another wave of tenderness and she was beginning to enjoy being valued by him too much. Uncertainty filled her as she contemplated just what she’d promised them. “I’m just sore from the anaphylactic shock. It makes the muscles tense. What happened anyway? I’m only allergic to fire ants, not food.” Cole sent his hands over her shoulders. A little groan escaped her lips as he gently massaged the aching muscles. “A problem with engineering genes is that the Alcandians did a really good job. Their food isn’t just full of vitamins that might aid the immune system, these nutrients get into the body and seek out bacteria and abnormal cells.” “You’re joking.” Cole was still rubbing her back. Standing still for his touch was fine as long as the topic remained benign. She caught his male scent and enjoyed the way it set off a soft throb in her clit again. It wasn’t true need, just a gentle reminder that passion would return, and the fact that no one had ever satisfied her as they had done. Dyne was slowly rubbing her hips and upper thighs as his breathing slowed down. Her hands rested on his biceps and she found her fingers gently returning the massage, rubbing at the stiff biceps that had held her up for their possession. “Nope. Wonder what happened to me? The food triggered another growth spurt, but don’t worry, that appears to only happen to males.” His hands moved down to her lower back, and she leaned forward to let him work at the knots sitting there, her head resting against Dyne, keeping their embrace intact. “Anaphylactic shock is a result of your body flooding your system with antibodies in response to a foreign body. In this case, whatever you ate had a similar compound.”

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“It will not happen again.” Dyne’s voice was hard with determination. His eyes flashed right before he scooped her up. He lowered her onto the bed and folded his body around hers. The bed moved as Cole joined on the other side, making it sort of clear why the bed was round. There was no corner or place for a warrior to get caught. Among a race of ultra Special Forces, it made sense. And her spot was in the center. She couldn’t shake off the pure bliss that surrounded her as legs tangled and her nose caught both male scents. Even in spite of not eating, her body was so comfortable she drifted into slumber again, never noticing that her company didn’t.

They had to leave. Cole wanted to cuss or hit someone. Actually both. Anything that separated him from Cassandra was something he was in the mood to tear apart. “She agreed.” Dyne wasn’t really talking to him. The warrior was gently stroking Cassandra’s arm as she slept. His teeth were clenched tight as he tried to gather the strength to leave the bed. At least they shared that emotion. Cole suddenly grinned. A wave of enjoyment washed up in his head and it was perfection. They were all going to share, even Cassandra couldn’t deny how much she enjoyed their relationship. He wasn’t fool enough to believe her content, but he’d tackle that end of the relationship after they’d taken the vows that would allow him and Dyne to share the chamber with her. “At least this is the last dawn we must face separated.” Dyne looked over Cassandra and nodded approval as Cole spoke softly. “Indeed. You are correct, we should go. Paneil is no lax guardian. I am astonished that we have not been discovered. I swear my own mother could tell when I was misbehaving the moment I even thought of transgressing.” Cole rolled over and off the bed. Dyne mirrored the action, standing up on the other side. They both turned to pull a blanket over Cassandra before dressing. Dawn

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wouldn’t break for another few hours but it was too close to risk lying down again. The time separating him from his next connection with Cassandra felt like it was an eternity. He frowned as he moved towards the doorway. Love was supposed to be some mysterious thing that eluded most people. Somehow Cole had managed to run right smack into it. It didn’t make any sense, it just was. He wanted so much more than sex. For the first damn time in his life, snuggling was more important than fucking. “It is a gift.” Dyne’s voice was serious. His partner turned a hard look at him. “One I must thank you for. You found our mate.” It was high praise among Alcandians. Often warriors split up to hunt for any hint of a female who could brush their minds. The current political unrest on Earth was forcing warriors to remain together for safety. It was a policy bitterly protested by hunting warriors. Finding a mate was worthy of risk as far as they could see. Cole understood their frustration tonight. He’d challenge any risk to be next to Cassandra. The need was woven into the fibers of his soul. His Alcandian one.

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Chapter Nine “Good morning, Daughter.” Cassandra jerked awake. She rolled right off the edge of the round bed and was standing at attention while she tried to engage her brain. The sight that met her eyes was slightly confusing for a moment. Instead of an irate drill sergeant she was facing two older Alcandian women. They instantly swept her nude body with their eyes. Her cheeks burned as she turned to grab a sheet but the bed had already made itself. The coverlet was smooth and there was a small pile of pillows perfectly placed in the center of it. “I am Paneil. Zeva is my born daughter.” Paneil was dark-haired like Zeva and rather short for an Alcandian, even a female. Zeva was six feet tall, but her mother was a good foot shorter. Paneil actually circled her, running her eyes over every inch of bare skin before she clicked her tongue. “This is Cambria. She is Dyne’s mother.” Cambria was Asian. There was no mistaking the fact that the woman must have been born on Earth. She stood next to the control panel and pressed the keys to reveal the bathing pool. Zeva’s warning about bathing not being private hit her as Paneil swished her hands in the direction of the newly revealed pool. “Come, Daughter, we have a great deal to do! The Yedith wasn’t very happy that he had to leave without hearing your vows yesterday. Although he understood and offered a blessing for your quick recovery.” The Yedith. Cassandra felt her cheeks burn as she became rather grateful for the fact that the bed was already made. There was still something about being caught having sex by a guy’s mother that no amount of sexual self-confidence could overcome. 114

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And she was facing two mothers… “You are so lovely.” Another woman simply walked into the room. She was holding a garment of some sort in her arms, carefully angling it as she came through the doorway. “I am Amin. Ravid is my brother-in-law and he is bound to Zeva.” “You gals like to make the most of any family relationship.” Cassandra folded her arms over her breasts while trying to cover her mons with a cupped palm. “Are we all here and accounted for?” Paneil raised a dark eyebrow at her. “We thought we’d keep the group small for today.” “Great.” Cassandra bit her lip as she watched Amin place the garment on the bed. It was a rich wine color with blue highlights woven through it. It wasn’t hard to guess that it was some kind of special garment for her appointment with the Yedith. A memory of her night filled her face with more color as she recalled in vivid detail just exactly how much she had wanted both men. It was pure craving. But Cole’s words stuck to her mind as she looked at the wine-colored garment again. She trailed a finger over one part, smiling at the pure silky softness that no female could quite ignore. Enlisted Army brat included. No shotgun wedding. That was a gift of trust. One that suddenly swelled with value as she looked at her company. Cole and Dyne had kept their tryst between them, exactly where it belonged. It was really kind of weird the way her heart clutched onto that hard fact, making her feel more cherished than she could ever imagine. Her cheeks flamed scarlet again as she considered just what the two warriors might do if she failed to appear. It just might be worth doing for the sheer enjoyment of messing with their arrogance. They had kidnapped her. “Come, Daughter.” Paneil was motioning her towards the pool and Cassandra gave a dry laugh as she dispensed with her plotting. She was going to see their Yedith. Cole and Dyne deserved the respect of her keeping her word. Besides, the matter really did 115

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belong between the three of them. Who she had sex with wasn’t anyone’s concern, and keeping it that way was something she was going to do. So, she took her first bath with help since turning three.

***** Breakfast was a circus. Cassandra was still starving, and Paneil kept bringing women over to be introduced. All of them were relations of some kind, and she admitted to losing track long before the Alcandian woman got tired of presenting. She was going to have to ask for a written manifest. That idea made her frown, because you never realized how complex your everyday life was until it was stripped away. The friends and relations you just took for granted. They were often embarrassing and annoying, but having lived without them, Cassandra held a new appreciation for every single nerve-treading one of them. She had begun understanding that back on Earth, when Rinehart stripped it away. Finding that privilege restored, only Alcandian-style, floored her with the amount of emotion. Staying felt really, really good this morning. Being alone wasn’t the perfection a lot of people made the mistake of believing it was. Cole and Dyne’s voices floated through her memory. Her nipples tingled before drawing into hard points. A little flare of need snaked though her as she lost interest in the women surrounding her. She was suddenly impatient to get back to wherever the warriors were. Zeva finally appeared with a suspicious smirk on her lips. “Mother, you need to let Cassandra eat. I bet she was up most of the night.” Paneil frowned and aimed her mother’s glare at Cassandra. Heat rushed into her cheeks as she tried to keep her guilt covered. Oh, it was guilt. There was no reason for her to be worried about what Paneil thought, but she couldn’t shake the nagging little twist of emotion that tried to make her squirm under Paneil’s stare.

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It must be a mother thing. Something daughters instinctively cringed at, even if it wasn’t your mother. The room suddenly went silent. The kind of hush that fell over a crowded room only when people were shocked. Zeva turned around instantly to face the cause of the upset. Two warriors stood in the doorway of the women’s hall. They didn’t actually step into the hall but surveyed the occupants with quick and efficient motions. “Your forgiveness, darmashas.” One warrior was silver-haired. His eyes moved around until they met hers. Cassandra stared right back at him as a sharp little pain went through her brain. She recognized the feeling immediately. This was another warrior she knew and simply hadn’t remembered yet. He offered her a nod of respect. “We needs speak, darmasha. We will await you in the main hall.” The warriors withdrew instantly. It was almost like they hadn’t been there. “That is Greer and Osher. Greer is a very powerful memory shifter.” Zeva offered up the information as the rest of the women in the eating hall suddenly cut her a wide path. “Perfect. That explains a few things.” But it wasn’t temper that flashed through her brain, it was fear. A deep, twisting concern that Greer was interested in doing a better job this time around. Cassandra bit her lower lip as she felt the emotion burning through her. She was absorbed with it because it stunned her. Literally knocked her speechless. An elephant could have stepped on her and she doubted she’d have noticed. All she felt was the painful anticipation of being separated, possibly forever, from Cole and Dyne. “It won’t work. I saw Cole in my dreams last time. The memory shifting didn’t hold back that memory.” “Oh, have you got it bad.” Zeva leaned forward and lowered her voice. “They got into your chamber last night, didn’t they? I should have guessed. Well, you’re stuck here, Cassandra. Embrace the reality because you’re right—you’ll see them in your dreams in spite of any further memory shifting.” 117

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“I’m not embracing anything. It’s my choice.” Cassandra bit her lip once more as a wave of enjoyment washed through her in response to Zeva’s prediction that she was staying on Alcandar. Her pride refused to bend completely. Her words sounded hollow even to her ears but she just wasn’t ready to fold. “Oh, Cassandra, there was a time I felt the same way. Believe me, you’re in too deep. I think I’ll let it slip to my mother though. Cole and Dyne could use a good thrashing. Warriors are too arrogant.” “Don’t you dare. It’s none of her business. But I agree that they are full of themselves.” A groan rose from her throat as Zeva smiled like a contented cat with canary feathers stuck to her lips. “I knew it. Cole has been pacing the Judgment Hall all morning. I had the feeling he got a full taste of you. Dyne is growling like a wounded Rithumitic beast.” “Be quiet, Zeva. Please, my pride is bruised enough.” Cassandra rolled her eyes as Zeva grinned with her secret knowledge. She shrugged before offering her a naughty look. “Beats a single Earth warrior, doesn’t it?” Cassandra slapped Zeva’s biceps but she only snickered in response. “You better go out there. Greer was being overly polite in giving you the option to meet him but believe me, he’ll come back in here and escort you out if you don’t show up soon. He has a lot of authority. I bet he’s got Cole and Dyne under guard for his meeting with you.” Cassandra offered Zeva nasty smile. “Really? Well, I am going to eat today. I haven’t had a full belly in three days, so Greer can just wait until I’m finished with a complete meal.” Sitting down, she pulled her tray forward and reached for a utensil that looked a lot like a fork. A little hint of nervousness invaded her thoughts as she surveyed the foreign fare but she pushed it aside. Dyne said she wouldn’t react to food again, so she was going to eat. Period. “I always did like you, Cassandra. You have spirit. I believe we might become friends.” 118

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Cassandra didn’t have to answer because her mouth was full. But she liked the idea a whole lot. Zeva considered her with her dark eyes for a long moment before she nodded at her. Cassandra found herself returning the nod as they left the words unspoken for the moment. But having a friend was really cool. Staying on Alcandar was much more intense. And important. That was a hard fact that kept her mind occupied while she ate.

***** That sky blue hallway had never seemed so long. Cassandra tightened her resolve and tried to recall every nasty drill sergeant order she’d ever heard but it was still a mighty long walk. The reason still shocked her. She didn’t want to go back to Earth. Astonishment hung over her thoughts but she just couldn’t shake the reality of that idea. Two days ago, she would have killed to get back into that wormhole. The range of her emotions was amazing. To want to be near a man so much…well, men. Maybe that was the core of the idea. She really was being swept off her feet, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of affection being applied to her. But it was more than that. She felt them so intimately. It was more than the scorching lust that had made her want to yell last night. This was a deep yearning to make sure she was near them. “Darmasha.” Greer stood up as she entered the main Judgment hall. He reminded her a lot of Master Jing Lee. There was power in his motions, tightly contained but completely controlled. She’d bet the warrior could kill silently. Cole and Dyne were suddenly right inside her thoughts. She lost her balance for a moment as they just burst inside her brain and she forgot where she was putting her feet. She stumbled and turned to glare behind her. Cole and Dyne were pacing along 119

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the wall, and Zeva’s mates, Ravid and Keenan, were clearly posted to make sure that they stayed there. The look in their eyes made her shiver. She’d always witnessed their control, but right now it looked like both warriors were losing their grip on selfdiscipline. There was a part of her that enjoyed that fact too. The pure rush of knowing that they wanted to drag her away for the sole purpose of hard mating. Her nipples drew into tight points as her lower lip went dry. “I see there is much evidence to lend credibility to what Cole and Dyne have told me.” Cassandra jerked her attention back to Greer and Osher. Her clit gave a little twist of hunger, lamenting her choice to look at something other than what her body craved. Greer was focused on her eyes and she felt the brush of his mind against her skull. He kept pushing as she tried to remember Master Jing Lee’s words. The fish swims through the pond…smooth. The warrior suddenly grinned at her. That cocky kind of arrogant expression she often got from Cole. He offered her a slight bow. “Very well done. Most humans crumple at my feet.” His expression sobered. “You did once too.” Her pride blossomed as she lifted an eyebrow. “Really? Just when will I remember that?” Greer extended a hand towards a bench near him. “I can sweep the remains of the block aside, if you wish.” Cassandra sat down and considered the expressionless mask both Greer and Osher were wearing. “No thanks. I think I’m managing just fine on my own.” Both warriors grinned at her. It was high praise, at least it sure felt like it. It was the sort of thing that an enlisted woman understood, respect from a fellow solider. That feeling you got when you passed a training goal in spite of your body’s attempt to crumple.

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“There is one matter to attend to before you may face the Yedith.” Osher spoke this time and his voice was smooth as whisky. “Since you were the victim of a crime, we must investigate it before you proceed. Forgive the intrusion, darmasha, but it is our way to ensure all females are willing to bind. It is a point of honor among warriors. You were brought here to protect our people and it is important that everyone is clear that you were not abducted as a forced mate. That would be dishonorable, since no one had mind-bridged with you.” So it was all right if the blue energy crackled back on Earth. Cassandra clamped her teeth closed against her sarcasm and aimed her energy at asking a question that would give her some information. “And how do you do your investigative work?” She already had a big clue in the way Greer was still floating around in her thoughts. The warrior wasn’t taking the hint to get out of her head or she just wasn’t yelling loud enough at him. Smooth pond, like hell. “I’m getting just a little tired of having my head invaded.”

Cole hung on to his control with strength he didn’t know he had. Watching Cassandra face Greer was pure torment of a kind he hadn’t even known could happen. With all the sick people he’d encountered among the Special Forces, this was the worst. Watching the woman he loved face a man who could separate them. Cole cussed low and harsh as he recognized the words. Hell, love was something a man moved mountains for. It was that fantasy thing that men claimed they didn’t want but all secretly longed for. Well, it sat at a table with a man who could send her home if Dyne’s and his word didn’t hold up. Cole relaxed as he recognized that he and Dyne had done the job right. The real issue wasn’t whether or not Cassandra would go back to Earth but whether or not she loved them. “I would like to know that answer very much myself.” Dyne’s voice was low as he kept his eyes on Cassandra. Greer clasped her head in his hands as she dug her fingers 121

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into the bench she was sitting on and tried not to flinch. Memory viewing was painless but extremely intrusive for a human. The first few times you wanted to escape it. “Love is built on trust.” Cole turned to look at Dyne. It was suddenly clear exactly what they needed to do. The time before he might be able to put his plan into motion an eternity. But he would. Binding with Cassandra meant nothing without her love. That was what he truly craved. Hearing her tell him that she loved him. Dyne flashed against his thoughts and Cole grinned at his partner. “Us.”

Greer stood and watched Cassandra walk away from him. He wasn’t often surprised. It was a pleasant end to her involvement with Alcandar though. The most agreeable one possible. She would bind with Cole and Dyne, thereby eliminating any further concern over her presence on Alcandar. While the circumstances might have been slightly unorthodox, the result was another bound unit. “Most interesting. I am astonished that she has discarded her anger so quickly.” Osher was as surprised as he was. Greer turned to his partner. “As am I. It produces interesting thoughts. I have avoided Earth due to their females’ independence.” “Yet it appears binding fever, coupled with immediate intimate contact, can overcome abduction.” Cassandra would have hit them both but she was too intent on her mates. Her head was aching and her nipples still painfully hard. Right or wrong didn’t matter. Seeking out the two men who made her feel secure did. Ravid stepped out of her way as she went to dive right under the warrior’s arm. She never saw the grin he shot his partner Keenan or the relief that covered both Cole’s and Dyne’s faces. She pressed right up against their bodies and inhaled their scents. Filling her lungs with the proof that she wasn’t alone. It was whole and complete and for that moment everything she needed. 122

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Her body shut down as she slipped into unconsciousness. She did it smoothly without struggle for the first time because she was with her mates. The rest of the details could just wait.

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Chapter Ten Cassandra decided she was sick of being put to bed by someone else. Her nipples tingled as she pushed her lips into a pout. Rather, she was sick of being put to bed while being unable to enjoy being in bed with Cole and Dyne. She might as well be honest— she had a major case of the hots for them. It was a really bad condition too. Her entire breasts were tingling now. The nipples tight and the rest of the tender flesh begging for just a touch. Slipping her hands over her chest, she sighed as a moment of relief went through her but her touch wasn’t the one she craved. Her passage was heating up as her clit throbbed. The folds of her sex felt too thick or swollen. She shifted her thighs apart as a little whimper left her lips. Someone had stripped her down before putting her to bed. Her imagination was insisting that it had been Cole and Dyne removing her garments, uncovering her body, their eyes sweeping over her skin… Oh Lord, Cassy! She had to stop. Her imagination was getting too deep a hold on her. She actually caught the scent of her own aroused body. She was wet at the mere thought of her mates. Cravings ran through her as she squirmed on the bed. It felt too large and empty without her mates. She knew she needed to get up but couldn’t force her body to go near her clothing. “Damn you, Somerton and Dyne. Where are you when I need you?” “You may use my surname as long as you are demanding my presence in your bed, heloni.” Cassandra opened her eyes and looked at the doorway. Cole was pushing the curtain all the way closed as Dyne lifted a finger to his lips to caution her to silence. A little bit of temptation taunted her to make enough noise to be heard below, but her 124

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body vetoed that impulse as she ran her eyes over the two powerful male frames. She licked her lower lip as anticipation turned into full need. Rolling over onto her stomach, she propped her elbows on the soft surface of the bed. Reaching out, she laid a hand on the hard bulge of Dyne’s cock. “Maybe I’m not the one who needs to concentrate on being quiet.” She stroked his erection through his pants before slipping her hand beneath his coat and hooked the loose waistband. Pulling it down, his cock was in her grasp a moment later. The uniform coat only fit through his shoulders, the rest of it flowed and she ducked her head beneath the maroon fabric. Dyne growled as she licked the head of his cock. Her own sex heated up even more as she licked all the way around the ridge that crowned his staff. She felt him undoing the buttons that held the coat closed. Opening her mouth, she took the head between her lips and heard him snarl softly. A husky chuckle rose from her throat as she sent her tongue flicking around the cock in her mouth. Dyne flexed his arms and his coat dropped to the floor before his hands threaded through her hair to hold her in place. Reaching down, she cupped the sacs at the base of his cock while sucking the head. She worked her hand over the portion she couldn’t get into her mouth because she was determined to master him. Heat was licking her clit, making her frantic for her own pleasure, but determination fed her need to make Dyne her captive for a change. Cole decided to change the balance. He lifted her hips until her knees bent to support her body. He rolled onto his back and placed his head between her spread thighs. A second later she gasped as he pulled her spread slit onto his face and sucked her clit. “Oh damn.” Dyne chuckled at her as he gripped her hair tighter. Just enough to send a tingle of pain down her neck. Cole’s tongue was flicking back and forth over her clit as she shivered and moaned. Dyne’s eyes flashed with blue as he locked gazes with her. “Partners always back each other up, heloni.”

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Cassandra growled at him before opening her mouth to suck his cock once again. Pleasure spiked up her body from where Cole toyed with her clit, but she resisted the urge to give in to her own pleasure. She worked Dyne’s cock and listened to his harsh grunts, trying to drive him into climax first. Neither of them lasted long. Dyne’s grip in her hair tightened as she tasted the first drops of his cum. His hips began to drive his cock deeper into her mouth. Cole licked down the center of her slit as Dyne’s seed erupted between her lips. She sucked harder on his length as he growled between clenched teeth in an attempt to contain the sound. His body shuddered, and a moment later, Cole lifted her and flung her back onto the bed. His body spread her thighs wide as he pressed his cock deep into her pussy. Pleasure was radiating through both their minds as he thrust hard and fast between her thighs. There was no controlling the need to join Dyne in rapture. Cassandra surged up off the bed towards her lover as she grasped him with her thighs. His hand covered her mouth as pleasure twisted through her and took the place of any thought about who heard them. Cole snarled as climax made her pussy contract around his cock. His seed hit her womb as he thrust harder into her. He buried his head against her neck as he groaned through his pleasure. Once more, they were all floating in the same pool of delight, sharing and completing each other’s enjoyment.

“My mother is going to kill us both.” Dyne was still breathing hard. He was leaning on the bed and looked like he wanted to just drop down beside her and snuggle up. Cassandra really liked the idea too. But Dyne shook his head and straightened up. His eyes swept the sight of her and Cole still tangled on the bed. His lips tightened. “And Paneil will happily thrash you as well. Best we get back to what we were coming here to do.” Dyne jerked his pants over his cock and Cassandra felt a ripple of disappointment go through her. The hottest flare of heat had been doused, but she was far from satisfied. The harsh fabric of Cole’s uniform hurt as it pressed against her nude breasts.

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“I’m sorry, honey. I’ll take it off tonight. Promise.” “Tonight?” Her brain was protesting having to work again. She didn’t want to think, she just wanted to indulge her body and linger in the moment of pure pleasure. Cole wasn’t going to assist her in that though. He moved and stood up next to the bed. She felt the rush of afternoon air against her bare skin and shivered. A tiny whimper worked past her lips. “Come on, Cassandra. We need to do something before Paneil and Cambria show up to interfere.” Cole reached for her hands but didn’t just grasp her wrists and use his greater strength to move her as he pleased. Her brain instantly latched on to that fact as she looked at his hand waiting for her to take it. Choice. She placed her hand into his and was on her feet in a second. Dyne had moved towards the closet and was striding back on silent steps with an Alcandian coat and pants for her to wear. Cole rubbed the base of her neck for a moment. She was suddenly alone in her thoughts. Both warriors were gone from her mind. It was amazing how stark she felt without them. Neither of them locked gazes with her either. “What’s up, boys? I think I missed something.” And she didn’t like it. She felt rejected and it actually hurt like hell. Suspecting that separation was going to be bad didn’t quite prepare her for the harsh reality of it ripping into her. “You’ll understand in a few minutes.” Cole offered her a hard look. There was distaste in his eyes as he watched her finish dressing. “We have to do something before tonight’s ceremony.” And they didn’t like whatever it was. Cassandra pulled her shoes on, eager to get whatever task lay ahead finished. It felt like a test, and she tensed up as she anticipated failing. Hurt ripped through her again as they turned and snuck out of the chamber. What Dyne and Cole didn’t notice was that Cassandra remained back in the chamber where she had become lovers with them. What followed their wide, maroon-clad shoulders 127

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out into the courtyard was a ramrod-straight enlisted woman. Trained to perform in spite of her emotions. Shit.

Cole was going to remember the walk for the rest of his life. Every muscle was tense as he felt Dyne’s agitation through their link. He didn’t dare touch Cassandra’s thoughts. He just wasn’t strong enough to feel her rejection as well as see it, but he had to give her the choice. All the reasons that had allowed him and Dyne to bring her to Alcandar didn’t mean much compared to having her choose them. No borders to influence that choice. He wanted it all or nothing. Dyne flashed him a harsh look and Cole caught the reprimand. They…it was they.

She was heading back to a restricted area. Cassandra knew the signs. Maybe the uniforms were different and the men larger, but she knew a secure location when her enlisted eyes fell on it. Cole and Dyne passed through another courtyard before moving into a vine-covered area. They walked right through a wall that dissipated in a shower of golden sparks. Well, that explained why she hadn’t found the wormhole portal. Another hologram designed to cancel it from her ignorant human eyes. Blue light filled the building they stopped in. She stood facing the portal that she’d been desperate to find, only today it was a sight that horrified her. Cole caught her chin in a hard grasp. His eyes flashed blue electricity at her. “I love you.” He cussed softly under his breath but never released her chin. “And I love you enough to set you free. That wormhole will dump you back on the trail that I took you up when this began or you can stay here and bind with us.”

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“The choice is yours.” Dyne lifted her off her feet as he hugged her. His body shook as she felt his breath next to her ear. “Stay.” He barked the single-word command before setting her down. Her heart was absorbing the gift of having her free will restored. It was amazing how getting the one thing that you were asking for suddenly made it less important. In fact, stepping back onto Earth was now something she wanted to avoid. Pain slashed across her emotions and she suddenly recognized that she was not the only one who didn’t want her to depart. Dyne and Cole were fighting the urge to drag her away from the glowing blue portal. “Why give me the choice? Isn’t that going to get you busted back down to that coat you were wearing when I showed up, Somerton?” Cole offered her a shrug as he let her chin go. “A lot lower, but this is between the three of us. I’ll deal with my own life.” “Like hell you will, Cole Somerton. It’s going to be our life, so get used to checking with me before you go trashing your career.” The words were out of her mouth before she thought any further about anything. Leaving wasn’t gleaming with temptation anymore, staying and satisfying an Alcandian Yedith was. All of a sudden she wanted the rest of the women to know that Dyne and Cole belonged to her. She turned to glare at Dyne. “And that goes for you too. Christ, how did you two survive without me?” She propped her hands on her hips, mimicking her mother perfectly. Being married to a military man took a spine forged from steel. Apparently she could apply that same technique to Judgment Officials. “Love is all well and good but you two will not go throwing your positions into the sewer, got it?” Neither warrior answered her. They just grinned like the cocky males they were. Cassandra tossed her hands in the air and marched out of the wormhole building and through the wall into the courtyard. She didn’t make it very far back onto Alcandar. Her mates scooped her up and pressed her between them. She wasn’t sure who kissed 129

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her first, only that she was caught between their kisses and the sweetest relief she’d ever known. They loved her…loved her enough to let her go. It was more than confirmation, it was the seal on their relationship that no ceremony could ever outshine. Dyne muttered in Alcandian as she tried to pull her mouth away in order to ask him what the words meant. She needed to understand, to soak up every confirmation she could. “He said he loves you.” Cole cupped the back of her head to stop her wiggling. His fingers gently massaged her neck as a shiver went down her spine. So much strength in that single hand, yet he controlled it expertly. She locked gazes with Cole, waiting for the blue electricity to flash through his eyes. It didn’t disappoint her. “I love you, Cassandra. Remember that when I’m being a dick.” She chuckled as she stretched forward to gently kiss him. “I’ll try, but it might take a lot of practice.” Dyne turned her to face him. Another set of eyes displayed blue for her and she offered him a kiss as well. He cupped the sides of her face between his hands as he studied her. “I love you deeply enough to defy everything else in my life for you.” Her heart twisted with emotion because Dyne would have let her go through that portal. She honestly believed it. No gift or sweetly worded card could say more than the fact that both warriors had brought her to the gate today. It was the most binding form of love, because it was built on trust instead of right of possession, or, in her case, capture. “I do love you both but could we get on with the formalities? I’m a little too old to be sneaking around behind your mothers’ backs.” Dyne barked with amusement as Cole chuckled. “Fat chance, Sergeant. Paneil and Cambria wouldn’t dream of missing their chance to reign supreme over the proceedings. But if you face the Yedith tonight, we get to share a chamber.” “Before the wedding?” Alcandians really were more advanced. You couldn’t know a man until you slept with him.

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Cole grinned at her. “Yeah. We’ll try to make sure you aren’t too disappointed in us.” Dyne slapped Cole on the shoulder, landing a hard blow that sent Cole stumbling. Dyne claimed possession of her as Cole growled at him. “You will never be disappointed in our bed.” His words were more of a warning, but she enjoyed the hard edge of his voice. There was arrogance and pride but she didn’t want either of them any other way. Warriors weren’t meant to be soft and she enjoyed every rough angle. “I’m going to enjoy testing that out, guys. A whole lot. So, when is this Yedith showing up? I think he’s late.” “Way late.” Cole swatted her butt in reprimand but his eyes shimmered with enjoyment. Dyne shook his head and wiggled a finger at her with a false disapproving frown on his face. “Careful, heloni, my mother will pay the man to be even later if she hears you speaking in that manner.” “Guess you’d better be nice to your mom.” Dyne rolled his eyes but grinned as he clasped her hand and began to pull her back towards the Judgment Hall. Cassandra looked down at their joined hands as Cole captured her other one. Now this was the sort of abduction she was completely approving of. Today, it was a moment filled with joy and confirmation. Binding fever was terminal, and she willingly slipped into its grasp. Letting her old life die in the flames. Going forward mattered, nothing else.

***** “You are lovely.” Paneil clasped her hands together and laughed with glee. The woman was a bubble of joy, kind of like a nun. It was impossible to be cross with her because it made you feel like a complete scum-bucket for puncturing her radiance. 131

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It was low-down and dirty but incredibly effective. “She is. I am still absorbing the fact that Dyne has found a mate and a new partner. It is pure joy for a mother’s heart.” Cambria was nodding her head as she surveyed the dressing team’s results. The wine-colored garment was a three-quarter-length jacket that had an empire waistline. It was tailored into cups for her breasts and slit up the sides. A pair of paints was gathered into a waistband. It was by far the most comfortable formal outfit she’d ever worn. The color certainly suited her. “You must not cut your hair. Alcandian women grow theirs long.” Cambria was fussing with her short hair again. A tiny wrinkle marred the woman’s forehead as she fingered the ends that rested on top of her shoulders. “Was yours long when you arrived on Alcandar?” Cambria smiled as she shook her head. “You are clever, Cassandra. If you want to know about me, I will tell you. My hair was as short as yours when I was sent here. My mates found me working in the rice fields of North Korea. My life has been very good here.” “You were sent here?” Cassandra turned to study Cambria. “Yes. When there was agreement between the two planets, warriors had to report back to Earth Military Intelligence when they believed they had found a mate. You are angry because of the circumstances surrounding your arrival, but I was much more devastated because from the moment my feet touched Alcandar, I knew that I had no home to return to. Earth had given me away. Men play harsh games that women do not always understand.” Cambria frowned with her memory, but she lifted a single finger as she finished her instruction. “I have learned that what truly matters is the trust between mates. Even on Earth, only very privileged women are allowed choice in the matter of husband. My family would have given me away too. On Alcandar, the choice to bind was mine alone. It is a gift that I value greatly.” And Cassandra felt humbled again. Yeah, she was mad about her career being finished but the truth was, she’d been born into a better life than most. Alcandar did 132

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have that on Earth. The women here were allowed more freedom, even if it came with long hair. Tears stung her eyes as she considered the two warriors waiting for her below. They had given her choice when they didn’t have to. “I’ll let my hair grow. But no promises. If it annoys me, it’s off.” Her three companions laughed, but it was that good-natured kind of amusement that went along with being part of a group. It was something she soaked up because she recognized how good it felt to be a part of something again. “Are you ready, Cassandra?” Amin was the one asking. The Alcandian woman was much younger than the two mothers. “Yes, I am.” And Rinehart could choke and rot on it too. She was going to start living again. She was going to bind with two Alcandians, kinky bedroom habits and all. If she were lucky, she’d discover that she’d only sampled the tip of the iceberg. Love wasn’t something you planned, it took you out like a sniper.

***** The Judgment Hall was full. Cassandra was distracted by the number of people stuffed into the place. She’d never seen so many of the maroon coats or women in the main hall. Children peeked around their father’s legs as Cambria and Paneil led her forward. The two mothers were grinning from ear to ear as they took her towards Cole and Dyne. Cassandra had to smother a giggle. Yeah, family was really great. The good, the bad and the insane that made up a unique combination that was irreplaceable. A moment of sadness invaded her bliss as she considered the fact that she wasn’t walking beside her father. He was a fine man and she really believed he’d approve of Cole and Dyne. She might never get the chance to ask him though, and that idea stung. Cole and Dyne frowned at her as their eyebrows lifted slightly. There was no time for conversation as

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the Yedith began the ceremony quickly, obviously intent on making sure that none of them escaped tonight. It was extremely short. Just a few questions to them all. Cassandra looked around as the hall erupted into applause. Cole squeezed her hand. “This is more of a handfasting, not the binding ceremony.” “Got it.” The idea of handfasting made her nipples tingle. In fact, her entire body was buzzing with anticipation. “So, does that mean you two are no longer worried about your mothers catching you in that chamber?” Dyne smirked at her but suddenly groaned as Cambria hissed softly from just behind him. He turned to face his mother’s displeasure as Cassandra tried not to laugh. She really tried. Cole smacked her bottom in response to her amusement. Cassandra gasped and turned on him. “Watch it, Somerton.” Dyne scooped her right off her feet in retaliation to her use of Cole’s surname. There was no doubt that she was being chastised as the huge warrior tossed her over his shoulder. Her face went red when the room filled with applause. Dyne carried her right down the center aisle as his fellow Judgment Officials smacked their palms against each other. There was one thing for sure, binding fever wasn’t going to be the death of her. It was going to be the end of Cole and Dyne!

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Chapter Eleven Cassandra swept Dyne’s knee the second he put her on her feet. The warrior went down like a load of bricks, landing on his rump as his face mirrored complete astonishment. “Ever try that caveman tactic again, Dyne Tywind, and I will shave your head while you sleep.” “What is a caveman?” Dyne was back on his feet far faster than she thought possible. She got a sneaking suspicion that the man had let her take him down. All that did was make her mad. The Army brat was insulted. “Prehistoric human. The rumor is they liked to drag their mates about by the hair.” Cole wrapped his hand around her hair and pulled her head back so that their eyes met. Blue electricity flashed through his eyes as she shivered. Sensation shot down into her pussy as she felt the walls of the sensitive sheath heating and clamoring for another taste of their possession. “An interesting idea.” Dyne flicked the first button on her coat apart. He trailed a finger through the edges of the fabric, stroking her skin. “I enjoyed carrying you. It is far past time the rest of the warriors understand that you belong to us.” His voice was hard with determination. He grasped her coat and snapped the fabric. The buttons scattered onto the tile floor with little pinging sounds as she gasped. Cole was still holding her head captive, leaving her rather helpless as Dyne grasped her pants and yanked them down her legs. So fast, but she was completely nude a second later. Cole considered her a long moment before he leaned closer and his breath teased her lips. She licked her lower lip as she became desperate for his kiss. The distance between them was harsh and cold. “I agree. It’s time to make sure they understand whom you belong to.” 135

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Cassandra gasped but Cole’s mouth smothered the sound. He held on to the back of her head as Dyne pushed her back towards his body. She ended up sandwiched between them, with Cole’s mouth pressing her lips apart in surrender. It was a demand for complete compliance. She could feel both hard cocks as the fabric of their uniforms rasped against her oversensitive skin. Dyne cupped her breasts and fingered her nipples as Cole lifted his mouth from hers. He let her hair go and took a single step away from her. His eyes strayed to Dyne’s fingers on her nipples as he quickly undid his coat and bared his chest. Her own gaze wandered over the perfection of his chest as Dyne pinched her nipples and the little pain made her whimper. It was crazy but the little sensation zipped down her spine and combined with the heat building in her pussy. It drove her anticipation higher, making her hunger acute. “An interesting reaction.” Dyne leaned over her ear and pinched her nipples once again. This time a low moan surfaced from her throat because it was growing impossible to contain anything inside her body. It was too much and too good to hold back. A little twist of fear went through her as she recognized just how much she was at the mercy of the two warriors. Oh, it wasn’t their strength—her own trust for them placed her on her knees before them. “You moan so sexy.” Cole ran one hand down her belly. She felt each finger as it slid over her bare skin. “And I love your bare pussy.” Her feet left the ground again. This time Cole lifted her and placed her on their bed. He pressed her thighs wide as he spread the folds of her slit apart. She shivered almost violently as her clit throbbed hard, begging for just a single lap from his tongue. Her fingers clawed into the bedding as she bit into her lip to keep her whimpers low and therefore contained inside the chamber. Tonight she could hear the dim roar of the voices below.

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Which meant they could hear her. Her face flamed red but it didn’t stop her body from lifting towards Cole’s mouth as his breath hit her clit. He looked up her body as her spread slit shivered under his breath. “I want to hear you scream.” “Dream on!” Her pride couldn’t refuse that challenge but her voice was too loud and it bounced around the chamber. Cole chuckled in a low tone that made her pussy contract with longing. He teased her clit with the tip of one finger and raised an eyebrow at her. “Really? I do enjoy dreaming about you, Cassandra, but I’m looking forward to the reality of it much, much more.” He pressed his finger onto her clit and rubbed. Her hips bucked up off the bed as Dyne appeared next to her. Her second mate pressed her down onto the bed as he blocked her view of Cole by sucking one of her puckered nipples into his mouth. It was almost painfully hot and she twisted as an equally hot mouth captured her clit. A harsh cry escaped her lips as Cole sucked on her clit and Dyne mimicked him with her nipple. Control was a foreign language. There was nothing but the pleasure tightening under Cole’s mouth or the delight Dyne inflicted with his lips. Her lungs labored to draw enough breath as her hips thrust up towards Cole’s mouth. Pleasure broke through her as Cole growled around her clit. Dyne lifted his head to watch her eyes while she came. His hand threaded through her hair to cup the back of her skull. He held her face angled towards his as the climax twisted and wrung a hard cry from her lips. “You enchant me.” His eyes were suddenly hungry. Cassandra whimpered as the last few ripples shook her body. Dyne looked so needy just then, hungry for her and it was so much deeper than sex. “I love you.” She stroked his face as he groaned on a harsh, yet tender note. His eyes flashed at her as the hand on the back of her head tightened momentarily.

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“I hope so, heloni, or I will be happy to act as your caveman for the rest of our lives. I love you too much to let you leave me.” There was a large part of her that enjoyed the harsher tone of this seduction but the enlisted woman refused to kneel completely. Reaching out, she curled her hand around Dyne’s cock. Her fingers closing around the thick staff. Stroking his length, she watched his eyes close to slits as she worked her hand up and down his erection. Cole chuckled softly and Cassandra shot him a naughty grin before she rolled over and opened her mouth to suck Dyne’s cock. She enjoyed the taste of his skin as she flicked her tongue over the slit and around the ridge of flesh that crowned it. She felt the rise of pleasure through their mind link and relaxed her jaw to take more of his length. Dyne growled louder, feeding her confidence as well as her sense of fair play. If the warriors below were going to have something to chat about, she was going to make damn sure there was a pair of male voices drifting through the blue velvet as well. Cole caught her hips and his cock pressed into her from behind. So simply, control slipped away as her pussy was stretched on his length. Dyne thrust his cock towards her lips as Cole thrust deep into her body from behind. Pleasure filled her thoughts, hers and theirs, there was no way to separate the feelings. Once again the three of them existed in a bubble where there was no time, no concern, only each other. It was by far the most secure place she had ever been. It took her past the definition of love, instead she was immersed in the pure sensation of it. Cole groaned and pressed his cock faster into her body. Dyne pulled free of her mouth as Cole tightened his grasp on her hips to ride her harder. The bed shook as his body slapped against hers. Because he was behind her, true pleasure didn’t threaten to break over her. He groaned hard as his seed spurted deep into her body and his hands gripped her hips to ensure that she remained still for his final pleasure. Cole’s hands relaxed as he rolled onto the bed. Dyne pressed her onto her back next to him as he pressed his cock deep into her body. Cole stroked the side of her face as Dyne rode her. This time, each thrust rubbed over her clit, sending her back towards

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another climax. Her hips refused to stay still. She lifted her bottom up towards her lover as both males watched her. Climax ripped through Dyne and it pushed her own body into another orgasm as well. The walls of her sheath clamped around his cock, milking his seed and pulling it towards her womb. Pleasure broke through her teeth as Dyne’s growl joined her moan. There was no way to contain the pure ecstasy and she didn’t give a damn if anyone heard them. There was nothing beyond the borders of their bed. They cuddled her tired body between theirs. One large warrior on each side. Cassandra stroked one biceps and then another as her fingers refused to remain still. She needed to reassure herself that it was real. They were reality. For the first time, reality was better than fantasy. Now that surprised her…enlisted woman and all.

***** One day later “Good morning, Daughter!” Cassandra jumped out of bed and bit back her cussing. Cambria took a moment to look at her nude body again, but this time Cassandra yanked a sheet up before the bed began to clean itself. She wrapped it around her body as the woman began to fill the bathing pool. Zeva was hiding a smirk as she and Jessica wandered in to help with bathing the bride. Cole’s pregnant sister frowned as she slumped into a chair. “I hate men,” she groused. “They’re all pigs.” Cambria and Paneil cast concerned looks at her while Zeva backed away from her. Amin was the one who stepped right up to Jessica and pulled her out of the chair. “You need to walk or your labor will be twice as long. My mates put me to bed when my pains began and it took nearly two days.”

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Jessica turned pale. But Zeva choked out, “Two days?” The Alcandian woman looked horrified. “Ravid forgot to mention that his babes are so difficult to bear.” Amin laughed as she poked Jessica in the arm to get her moving. “Ravid is the uncle of my son, Chandler. Looks just like Ravid.” Zeva pushed her lips into a pout and grimaced as she caught Cassandra looking at her. “Amin was bound to Ravid’s blood brother.” Amin waved her hand in the air as all the women made soothing sounds under their breath. “Enough. I have been widowed for over a year, both my mates were killed in the line of their duty. I have a son to raise and no more time for such pity.” She appealed to Cassandra. “Tell them to stop coddling me. You are a soldier woman, make them understand that I knew the risks when I bound with Judgment Officials.” Zeva nodded her head. “That I do understand.” Cassandra nodded, it was something she understood but she was still sorry for Amin. The woman was young and full of a special joy, the same sort that Paneil tormented her with. Jessica growled as she huffed. “Fine, I’m going for a walk and if any of you tells Dylan or Jett that I’m having this baby, I’m coming back in here to hide from them.” Everyone stifled their laughter as Jessica stomped out of the chamber. Paneil lifted a single finger into the air before she went to the blue curtain and lifted one corner to peer below. Her face was purple when she turned around. “Her mates are standing below.” The chamber filled with good-natured amusement. Cassandra laughed right along with them until Cambria grasped the edge of her toga and pulled it free. Being nude turned her laughter into a growl but that only amused the women further. “I don’t need help bathing!” Paneil frowned at her. She fluttered her eyelashes as her lower lip shook in a tiny pout. Cassandra groaned as she surrendered. “Fine. You may stay, Paneil.”

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Paneil looked ready to weep. “I had hoped you’d call me mother before the binding ceremony…” Her voice trailed off as she ducked her head. The rest of the women looked ready to pound the word out of her. Cassandra shot Zeva a furious look before she held out her hand to Paneil. “Please stay, Mother.” Paneil clasped her hands in front of her and raised her face to display a shining smile. Her eyes glittered with her joy as she took Cassandra’s hand and led her to the bathing pool. Yeah…family. It was dream and nightmare all rolled into one. She wouldn’t have it any other way.

***** Paneil and Cambria led her up that aisle again. This time the ceremony was longer. Cole took his vows in a steady voice while Dyne lingered over the words in a tender tone that touched her soul. Her own voice squeaked as she tried to force her vows past her lips. A low wave of amusement filled the hall in response. “Carry me out of here and you die tonight.” Once again she was starving and her mates looked ready to haul her up to the chamber the instant the Yedith announced them bound. Cole snickered as Dyne pouted. “I’m hungry. There’s a big problem with Alcandar, I never seem to get to eat at a table despite the fact that I see other people sitting down and enjoying their meals.” “Depends on the type of meal you prefer.” Cole wiggled his eyebrows at her as her nipples contracted. “Trust a man to think sex is more important than food.” She dropped her voice to keep it between them. Dyne let one of his hands stroke the curve of her hip. “With you, heloni, making love is far better than eating.” Tenderness coated his words as Cole offered her a smirk. She joined their teasing as the guests began to talk and drink. Like any wedding it was shared by family and friends that took her mates’ attention. Cassandra was pulled away by Cambria and 141

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Paneil to be introduced to more women. The conversation swirled around her until she stopped and felt someone watching her. Turning around, she found Greer’s silver eyes focused on her. He offered her a half nod of his head but continued to contemplate her without a single word of explanation. It was the sort of thing your commanding officer did when he was evaluating your performance on a critical assessment. Her gut twisted with a hint of suspicion. “You look like you’re planning something.” And it wasn’t a nice something. Cassandra considered the flare of determination in Greer’s eyes. She was really glad she wasn’t the target of the warrior’s decision. “I am.” Greer turned to face her completely. He swung his right arm across his chest to hit his left shoulder with a closed fist. It was the equivalent of a salute. Somehow, she’d rated the respectful gesture from him. “You have served as a prime example to me. You have my gratitude.” The Alcandian warrior turned to leave. Cassandra frowned at the nagging suspicion his words had hatched in her brain. “Greer, just what did I show you?” He turned and his gaze moved over her, taking in her binding robes. When his eyes met hers once more, that determination was burning away. “That in the end, even abduction can be forgiven. I have considered traveling to Earth for many seasons now in pursuit of a mate. You stand here as an example of the reward that is possible if I am willing to suffer the adjustment period.” “Indeed, she does that well.” Greer’s partner Osher surveyed her with his green stare before offering her a cocky grin. “I hope you will befriend our intended mate once we return from Earth. She will enjoy a human companion in her new home.” “Whoa, boys. I am not a part of anything that’s making you two think that abducting human women is a good way to meet binding mates.”

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“Yet you stand here content and bound by your own free will.” Osher wasn’t happy about her denial. The warrior stepped closer. “Do you deny that love fills your heart or that you were abducted?” Oh crap! Just what she needed on her conscience. “Kidnapping does not grow love.” Just because she was in love with her two mates didn’t mean she needed to be held as an example of the way to go about meeting Earth women. Greer lost his frown and nodded soothingly at her. “You need not worry, darmasha, we would never handle any female that our minds could not link with.” Which meant the warrior had no problem hauling a screaming captive back through the wormhole, as long as he believed he had touched her mind. “Just wait, you can’t go kidnapping women.” Both warriors folded their arms across their chest and frowned at her. Osher shook his head and glared at her. “There is nothing more to discuss. We are Alcandian warriors and it is time for us to begin the hunt for a mate. It will be our most sacred mission to ensure that she is as content as you now find yourself.” Greer nodded agreement. “You cannot deny that you were brought to Alcandar against your will at the time. The evidence is clear. Please do not worry about our future mate. We will treat her with the highest respect. But we will find her.” The two warriors nodded stiffly to her before they turned simultaneously and moved across the hall. Her stomach felt sick for a moment as she bit into her lower lip. How in the hell had she managed to screw up a total stranger’s life? “It’s not your fault.” Zeva offered her a small shake her head. “Warriors rarely see beyond what they want. But even on Earth, your Special Operations males have deep urges to seek out a mate. It is encoded in our genes.”

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“Yeah, well, it still stinks.” Cassandra sounded grouchy and she was. Being in love with Cole and Dyne didn’t change the fact that she thought their kidnapping her was really low. Zeva flashed her a grin. “I believe that is the definition of warrior. Is it not?” Cassandra let her eyes drift to the two warriors still shaking the hands of their fellow Judgment Officials. Both of her mates felt her frustration and made excuses. They were striding towards her as their guests parted like a herd making way for a pair of lions. “Your buddy Greer seems to think I’m a poster child for heading out to Earth and capturing himself a mate.” Dyne wasn’t alarmed at all. “It is how we found you.” Cole laughed. “You hate being wrong, don’t you, honey?” Cassandra kicked her newly bound mate. Cole smiled at her as his shin ached. He leaned forward and her nipples contracted as his scent filled her senses. “Still hungry for just dinner?” He held out his hand and Dyne mirrored the gesture. Sensation flowed down her body to her clit as the idea of sitting at the three places reserved for them became very uninteresting compared to the invitation to join them upstairs. “Now that you mention it, no.” She placed her hands into theirs and ran to keep up with their long strides as they left the hall. A round of laughter followed them and Cassandra didn’t care. Love wasn’t something you put on hold.

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About the Author I write to reassure myself that reality really is survivable. Between traffic jams and children’s sporting schedules, there is romance lurking for anyone with the imagination to find it. I spend my days making corsets and petticoats as a historical costumer. If you send me an invitation marked formal dress, you’d better give a date or I just might show up wearing my bustle. I love to read a good romance and with the completion of my first novel, I’ve discovered I am addicted to writing these stories as well. Dream big or you might never get beyond your front yard. I love to hear what you think of my writing: [email protected].

Mary welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

Also by Mary Wine A Wish, A Kiss, A Dream anthology Alcandian Quest Alcandian Rage Beyond Boundaries Beyond Lust Dream Shadow Dream Specter Dream Surrender Ellora’s Cavemen: Tales from the Temple III anthology Scarlet Stockings Tortoise Tango

Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.

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