Crimson halted at his tone, fear taking first place in her emotions. He sounded mad! Both she and Amelia turned to see why Teclis had stopped them. As she turned, Crimson caught the movement of Teclis’s long arm swinging toward her. Oh God, here it comes. Did I look at someone too long? What had he said I missed? What did I do?

  Crimson cowered, waiting for the blow to occur. But the blow didn’t come, only confusion when she was suddenly engulfed in a pair of strong arms. She was pulled against Teclis’s large, warm, and great smelling body.

  “Shush now, it’s okay,” Teclis’s deep, male voice crooned by her ear. He stroked a hand down her hair in a continuous pattern.

  Crimson closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Slowly, her pounding heart dropped to a normal thump, thump instead of the pounding jungle beat, and her breathing also eased. As her body relaxed, she realized why Teclis had stopped them. He had halted their walk, not because he wanted to beat two shades of shit out of her for doing something he didn’t like, but to hold her and calm her down before she went into a total meltdown.

  Tears welled behind her closed eyes. Why was she finding comfort in a male that was causing her mind’s turmoil? No matter how much she searched her brain, she couldn’t find an answer. So she simply relaxed even more in Teclis’s arms, taking the comfort he sought to give her.

  “Do I need to call Hover?” Amelia asked.

  “No,” Teclis replied. “She will be fine in a moment.”

  Will I? Crimson was back in the arms of a huge, gorgeous, alien man who seemed to know what she was thinking and feeling after only a few days. How had he seen the turmoil that was going on inside of her so quickly when she hadn’t realized it herself?

  Teclis pulled back and cupped her face. “Open your eyes, me unum.”

  Crimson did as Tec asked. She blinked away her tears, which were causing him to appear blurred, to see worried, swirling eyes meeting hers.

  “I have a question…what is this marshmallow world?”

  Crimson chuckled. “You ask me that now?”

  He shrugged and grinned. “It has taken your mind off of your bad thoughts, yes?”

  “Yes.” She laughed. “A marshmallow world is what I was living in with you two. It was nice, soft, protected. Not the real world. Get it?”

  “Yes,” he said, although he didn’t seem positive about his answer. “What is a marshmallow?”

  Crimson laughed a little harder. “It’s a soft sweet. Look it up.”

  Teclis nodded before asking, “Do you feel better now?”

  “Yes, thank you. I’m sorry,” she quickly added.

  “Sorry for what?” Coil asked beside them both.

  “For being silly.”

  Coil leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “Do not worry so.”

  Teclis opened his mouth to say something but a hand appeared on his arm. All three turned toward Amelia when she spoke.

  “Do you want to return to your cabin, Crimson? I know you’re dealing with a lot right now. Finding yourself on board a spaceship is huge, let alone dealing with your past and such.”

  Crimson inhaled deeply and focused on centering her emotions. She pulled her face out of Teclis’s hands and held up her head.

  “No, I’m fine.” She smiled. “Please, let’s go eat.” She stared up into Teclis’s eyes and bowed her head a fraction for a second. “Thank you, Teclis.” Even to her own ears her tone was a tad icy. But she turned, hoping the flash of hurt in his swirling eyes was her imagination.

  She didn’t want to hurt Teclis or Coil intentionally. They had been so sweet with her. But she felt she needed to distance herself somewhat until she sorted out her feelings and thoughts.

  With Amelia sliding her arm back into hers, and the two warriors following, they set off toward the galley again.

  Chapter 9

  Teclis and Coil sat in the galley with Crimson and Amelia, eating something the humans called a fry-up. It looked disgusting, but Teclis was pleased to find it tasted a lot better than it looked. He popped a fried mushroom into his mouth and hummed. Who would have thought something grown in muck could taste so good?

  Teclis could barely take his eyes off Crimson. When she had emerged from the bedroom fully dressed he had nearly swallowed his tongue. Her long, red, curly hair cascaded down her back over the light green gown she was wearing, bringing the color out in her eyes. He swore she looked just as stunning dressed as she did naked. The smile she had lit her face up like the Earth’s sun.

  Although there were several warriors in room, eating first meal, it was relatively quiet. But even the sound of their quiet mumbling instantly went away when the captain walked into the galley. It wasn’t the captain they grew quiet about, as he often joined them for meals, it was the youngling in his arms. Teclis, too, enjoyed seeing young once again on the ship.

  “Good morning, warriors.” Trian smiled as he took a seat next to his mate.

  Amelia’s face filled with love as she looked at her daughter. “Good morning, my little munchkin. Did you enjoy your time with daddy?” she cooed, picking her youngling up and curling protective arms around her.

  Crimson placed her utensils down and started cooing over the child next. “Oh, she is so dainty.”

  “Yes, she is, isn’t she? It still shocks me I was pregnant only half the time and she came out perfect.”

  “Only half the time? Was she a preemie?”

  Teclis wondered what Crimson meant by preemie but received his answer before he managed to ask.

  “No. I didn’t carry her for nine months because of the mixture of Gracian and human DNA. All our ladies have had shorter pregnancies. Even Bell and she was expecting before she got together with Knut. Luna has both Gracian DNA now as well as human.”

  “Luna?”

  “Bell’s little girl.”

  “Oh. So, any human that gets pregnant with a Gracian child is what? Only pregnant for about four and a half months?” Crimson asked.

  “Well, it’s nearer five months, and yes, before you ask, they all come out perfect little babies, like they’d been cooked for the whole nine months.”

  Teclis near choked on the egg he’d just placed in his mouth. “Cooked?” he asked.

  Both Amelia and Crimson looked at him before peering at each other and bursting into giggles.

  “It’s a human expression,” Crimson said, placing a hand on his. “It’s like when we say bun in the oven. It’s another way we say someone is pregnant.”

  “Oh, okay. You have many ways of saying such simple things. It is hard to keep up.”

  “Don’t worry, warrior, you will get there.” As Amelia said that Crimson withdrew her hand from his, leaving only an echo of her warmth behind. He wanted to bring her hand back to his and have her leave it there.

  “Can we go somewhere and you can tell me more?” Crimson asked Amelia. She glanced toward Teclis and Coil before looking at Amelia again. “Alone, please.”

  “Of course.” Amelia nodded.

  Teclis frowned. He could see and feel Crimson pulling away from him and Coil, and he didn’t like it one bit.

  Trian stood and offered his spark a helping hand to stand. Teclis and Coil stood too, and both of them offered a hand to Crimson to help her up, but she refused their help and refrained from meeting their eyes. Teclis opened his mouth to ask Crimson if he or Coil had offended her in any way, but Coil’s hand grasped his arm. Looking up at his friend, Coil shook his head.

  “Give her time,” he said before turning his eyes back onto Amelia and Crimson.

  The captain and his spark shared a short, sweet kiss before Amelia and Crimson walked from the room, taking the youngling with them. Everything inside of Teclis wanted to follow his spark. He wanted answers as to why she didn’t want him or Coil around.

  “Human females are quite a bit different from our females,” Trian said, sitting down.

  The chef appeared and placed the captain’s first meal in front of him. Teclis sat down and pushed his plate away from him, his appetite forgotten.

  “I feel as if I have lost something,” Teclis admitted, rubbing a hand over his chest. “I’ve never felt this way before. The pain I feel inside is almost physical.” Not even when he and Coil were on separate security duties had Teclis suffered such pain, but he wasn’t going to admit that out loud.

  “Me neither,” Coil said, he too rubbing his chest.

  Trian stopped eating and leaned back in his chair. “Did your seclusion go well?”

  Teclis closed his eyes briefly, going over memories of the last few days.

  “Yes,” he and Coil said together, sharing a smile.

  “You are both rubbing your chest as if it hurts not having your spark around.”

  Teclis nodded, noting the longer Crimson wasn’t around, the more intense the pain in his chest became. He glanced over at Coil to see a pained look on his face too.

  “Perhaps you both should report to Hover,” Trian said.

  Teclis wasn’t about to deny the captain, not when the pain grew in proportion. He stood, picturing the medical bay, and zapped himself there, Trian and Coil appearing beside him. Coil, however, buckled and fell to the floor. Teclis rushed to his friend as Trian yelled for Hover.

  “Hurts!” Coil gasped out.

  The pain inside Teclis’s chest grew. He had never in his whole life felt such agony. He reached for Coil to try and comfort his lover and was shocked to find the pain receded to a more manageable point. He pulled his hand away and the ache inside of him once again crippled him. He replaced his hand. Again, the pain withdrew.

  “Release him, warrior,” Hover demanded. “Let me see what’s going on.”

  “No!” both he and Coil said together.

  Teclis helped his friend up. He found the more they kept contact with each other, the more the pain lessened.

  “If we keep touching, the pain diminishes,” Teclis told Hover.

  “What pain? What’s going on?” Hover asked.

  For the next few yens Teclis and Coil were examined, scanned, and asked numerous questions while they sat on a med bed still in contact with each other.

  Suddenly, Amelia’s anxious voice came over Hover’s comm.

  “Hover here.”

  “Hover, we need help. Crimson is in such pain she is curled up on the corridor floor.”

  “Which corridor?” Trian asked before Hover could say a word.

  “Five B.”

  Trian was gone in a flash.

  “I have them both,” Trian said a few moments later over the comm. “It’s okay, me unum.” He was heard reassuring Amelia. “I will take Crimson to medical.”

  Teclis forgot what he was doing, his only thought going to Crimson’s aid, and he released Coil’s hand. The pain that had slowly become more manageable suddenly grew to intense proportions again and crippled him. Coil was beside him once more, his hand touching Teclis’s arm. Anger flooded Teclis’s system at not being the one to help Crimson. The want to be with Crimson turned into need.

  “Crimson. We have to get to her,” he gasped out to Coil.

  “The captain is bringing her. Now get up on this bed before I sedate your arse, warrior,” Hover snapped.

  Reluctantly, Teclis followed the order and sat once again beside Coil, their gazes glued to the med door. After what seemed like a lifetime, the door opened. Trian rushed inside with a limp Crimson in his arms.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Hover ordered, standing in front of Coil and Teclis.

  Teclis threw Hover an unpleasant look.

  “Put her on the bed with her warriors. I think I might know what’s going on,” Hover said.

  Teclis and Coil moved aside but still remained touching as Trian placed their tiny spark between them. The bed suddenly seemed too small, but Teclis didn’t care, all he had eyes for was Crimson.

  She lay pale and unaware between him and Coil. They both ran a hand over her body, stroking her face and skin wherever they could. Had being part of him and Coil done this to her? She’d been fine this morning. Why had being apart caused the three of them such grief? Teclis was about to ask Hover, who stood over the trio, his scanner constantly moving, when he suddenly smiled and nodded.

  “Just as I thought. She is coming to. Can you both pass some energy to her please. It should bring her around more quickly.”

  Both Tec and Coil did as asked, their fingers touching at the nape of Crimson’s neck. Gradually, Crimson opened her eyes and looked around.

  “Shit, what happened?” she asked, rubbing her hands over her face.

  Amelia stepped forward. Teclis was surprised to see Amelia. He hadn’t even known she’d arrived. For a brief moment he wondered where her youngling was, but he quickly pushed that thought aside. She probably asked one of the other human women to care for her.

  “We left the galley and you started complaining about a pain in your chest. We thought it was indigestion. But the more we walked, the worse it got. I called Hover when you collapsed,” Amelia said, filling Crimson in.

  “So why am I in bed with these two again?” Crimson asked, glancing between Tec and Coil with displeasure.

  Teclis felt the blow of her tone to his heart. Did his little spark not want to be with them?

  “Because—” Hover interjected before Teclis could ask why Crimson didn’t want to be with him and Coil. “Actually, before I answer that question, I have one of my own. During your seclusion did you happen to share energy?”

  Teclis thought that was an idiotic question. What warrior and their spark, or sparks in his case, didn’t share sex and energy during their seclusion?

  “Of course,” he snapped.

  “What I mean is, did the three of you share both sex and energy?”

  Now Teclis was getting confused. “Yes. Where are you heading with this, Hover?” he growled, his tone harsh.

  “Sorry, Crimson,” Hover apologized, his eyes swirling a tad faster. “I know you human females don’t like sharing details about your intimate experiences, but I require all the information in order to make my final conclusion.” To the three of them, Hover continued. “You are the first trio we Gracians have ever had, so it is fair to say you will encounter some things that we have never come across before. Such as the ordeal you shared this morning. Teclis, Coil, did you share sex together during your seclusion?”

  Both he and Coil shook their heads. “No. It wasn’t about us, it was about our spark,” Coil said, annoyed.

  “Crimson, I hate to ask this of you, but again, I do require the answer. Would you be upset if Teclis and Coil shared a sexual relationship together, as well as with you?”

  Crimson frowned and pushed up onto her elbows. Both Tec and Coil aided her in sitting up. Already, after sharing such a short time with her, Teclis knew Hover was about to get what the humans called an ear bashing. Even Amelia started chuckling before Crimson opened her mouth.

  “Listen here,” Crimson growled. “Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for the rescue, but I didn’t ask for it. I also didn’t ask to be mated to two hulking although…” She peeked at Teclis and Coil before returning her gaze to Hover, who had taken a step back at her sudden vehemence. “…handsome warriors. If they wish to go off and have their relationship, then let them. What I want to know is, what has all this got to do with feeling pain when I’m not with them? Amelia doesn’t feel that, and from what she has said, the others don’t either.”

  Hover sighed and stepped forward again. “That’s why I was asking my questions.”

  “No, they didn’t fuck each other, just me! Now, sort us out before I go global on your arse,” Crimson snapped.

  “You go, girl!” Amelia laughed, holding a thumb up to Crimson who pleasantly blushed.

  Teclis smirked. His spark had fire in her belly when angry. His admiration for her grew, although he did make a mental note not to piss her off. During their three days together she’d told them some of what she’d been through. His mate had confessed that she had felt like a mouse when all she wanted to do was kick her ex to the ground, but he always had the upper hand. Crimson had also admitted the anger she felt toward herself for allowing him to treat her that way. Now, she must feel safe enough because she was letting rip. Tec was glad though that it wasn’t him at the end of her tongue lashing.

  Hover cleared his throat before answering. “As I said earlier, you are our first trio, so I had to ask. From my scans, Crimson, your energy levels are fine, whereas Teclis and Coil’s are fluctuating. But your deep biology scans tell me a different story. From what Teclis and Coil have said, when they share their energy with you, their fingers touch, but that isn’t enough. They both need each other’s energy just as much as you do, through their iungos in the nape of their necks. I’m sure Amelia and your mates have already informed you that we Gracians have energy running through our bodies instead of blood. But what you might not have been told is that iotas of energy is also carried in our sperm as well as our skin.”

  “Oh,” Amelia gasped. “So, you’re saying because Teclis and Coil didn’t…you know…” She wiggled her eyebrows, looking toward Crimson who again blushed. “They didn’t level out their energies. But then…” Amelia frowned. “Why was Crimson racked with pain when you said her energy levels were fine? And I thought you just grew weak if you didn’t have enough energy or blow up if you have too much.”

  “And why do we need to keep touching for the pain to subside?” Coil asked.

  “We don’t blow up, Amelia.” Hover frowned as if offended. “But yes, you are right in that if we don’t get enough energy we grow weak.” He looked back at Tec, Coil, and Crimson. “I cannot fully explain the pain you are experiencing when apart, but your scans indicate that although your seclusion went well enough for Crimson’s mating heat to subside, it wasn’t enough for the three of you to be properly joined as a trio.”

  “But wouldn’t that make it easier for them to be apart?” Trian asked.

  “I suppose it would, but I cannot explain everything at this time. I would have to acquire and review much more data. This is a unique case, Captain.”

  “So, what do we do?” Crimson asked. “Because we sure can’t continue with our lives by touching all the time.”