“Yes, my Nobek.” Her voice was a singsong.

  His hand wriggled beneath her, working between her body and the mattress she laid on. When his fingers closed over her clit, she sighed at the clench of her sex. Pleasure lapped over her in warm waves.

  “Out of senses from love,” she heard Bacoj observe. “She enjoy discipline.”

  “Serve her well,” Japohn chuckled. His fingers were slippery as he continued to work her sensitive flesh.

  The first blow of Bacoj’s spanking, despite landing squarely on her buttocks, warmed her from head to toe. She moaned pleasure, her sex gushing thick honey on Japohn’s fingers. He growled appreciatively. “Soon make hard again.”

  Lindsey didn’t reply. The meaty smacks on her ass continued, providing much more pleasure. The intense sensation didn’t register as pain at all. In her continued blissed-out state, it fed into a sense of wonderful delight that grew with every sharp strike. Japohn’s knowing touch strengthened the pleasure, driving her towards exultation. She gripped the bedding as a wave of pure feeling swept through her body. Her groans took on a throaty quality.

  “I think she climax like this.” Japohn’s voice was awed.

  “Pleasure, Lindsey,” Bacoj encouraged, spanking her harder and faster. “Do pleasure now.”

  As if his words threw a switch, her abdomen clenched tight, then a thunderclap of release reverberated through her body. She gasped and groaned as it rolled over her, sending her hurtling into the heavens where another starburst enfolded her in ecstatic embrace. It was as if she could feel her earthbound body, but was at the same time removed from it.

  I’ve reached this point in meditation a few times, she thought. Despite the cacophony of orgasm riding her body, her mind was clear and quiet. Peaceful. Transcendent.

  She was still in that uplifted state when Japohn and Bacoj raised her up between them. They kneeled facing each other. Japohn entered her from the front as Bacoj filled her back passage. Slick with juices, they slid in and out of her fonts in perfect rhythm. Lindsey felt them rub against one another through the thin wall that separated the two men. She rose and fell over their eager flesh, her thoughts calm even as her body rioted at the continued fulfillment. The hard bodies encased her safely as her mind floated free. Every orgasm that roared through her senses only gentled her mental state further. The chaos of physical rapture fed the tranquility of nirvana realized. They took her farther than she’d ever been before.

  Lindsey’s continuous spasms were bringing the men close to their own paradise, and she urged them on, willing them to join her in her heavenly state. She reached behind to grasp Bacoj’s hips, pushing to drive herself harder against their thick staves. She licked and nibbled Japohn’s flesh, biting harder when her nips produced moaning growls from his throat. He responded to her punishment by pounding into her mercilessly, which encouraged Bacoj to do the same.

  Lindsey felt she entered their consciousnesses, riding along as they approached climax. Japohn’s body was a riot of pleasured agony, the intensity of feeling her clutching warmth driving him with ruthless desire. It was all animal instinct, the fierce imperative to fill her belly with his seed, to rut until the beast within had fully claimed his mate.

  With Bacoj, his focus was less animal, more laserlike in its intensity. He was seduced by her accepting softness and felt the need to prove to her his strength as a man. With assured power, he established his mastery by serving her needs. He was at once dominant and provider. His lovemaking was a testament the dichotomy of giving and taking all at once.

  They were both approaching their ends and Lindsey opened her body and consciousness wide to receive their offerings. Bacoj went first, his cry a symphony to her ears. She felt every pulse with him as if it was her own, the thrilling force of sending his juices into her dark passage in thick bursts. Then Japohn’s bass roar joined his cries, his loins clenching for an excruciating instant before his seed poured heavily into her womb, marking her as his, his, his. Lindsey’s ringing soprano rose high above the music as she experienced the glory of their orgasms mixed with hers.

  They tumbled into a heap, gasping with satiety. Lindsey’s mind retreated from her mates, from that euphoria state and returned to the solidity of her body. She sighed, reluctantly allowing the otherness of heightened consciousness to recede.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, knowing the others wouldn’t comprehend what she was so grateful for.

  “Beautiful, Lindsey,” Bacoj whispered back. “We love you. We do what’s right.”

  * * * *

  Lindsey fell asleep, her lips curved in a soft smile. As soon as her breathing deepened, Bacoj rose from the sleeping mat and gestured for the other two men to follow him to the seating area. Vax jumped up, his disposition sunnier than ever. Japohn joined them around the low table, his movements slow with obvious dread.

  After everyone was seated on a cushion Bacoj addressed the most immediate concern. “How is your arm?”

  Vax flexed the straightened limb. “Very good.” He looked at his clanmates and sobered immediately. “What’s wrong?”

  “We have to discuss what to do about Lindsey.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Japohn’s growly voice strove to be gentle. “Sarod believes we should give her up to another clan, one befitting her status as the Empress’ sister.”

  Vax didn’t try to hide his upset. He scowled at them. His head shook slowly from side to side and his fists clenched. “She wants us, not some high-ranking clan. She said so.”

  Bacoj laid his hand on the Imdiko’s tensed shoulder. “What she wants and what’s best for her may be very different things. We have to put her welfare first, Vax.”

  He was shocked when Vax shook his hand off and bared fangs at him. “No.”

  “Vax.”

  His clanmate visibly struggled with his unaccustomed anger. After a moment his fangs folded back out of sight and anguish flooded his face. “How could you even suggest this?” The words were spoken in a low, pained howl that made Lindsey stir in her sleep.

  When she quieted Bacoj said, “Because I love her. That means I’m not going to be selfish with my wants.”

  Japohn snaked an arm around the Imdiko, rubbing his back. “Look at us, Vax. We’re young with nothing to offer her.”

  Bacoj could see the terrible realization creeping into Vax’s face, but the Imdiko remained stubborn. “We love her. That’s all she wants.”

  “And what do we do when we take her back to Kalquor with no rank? The Empress’ sister can’t be clanned to a cook, a shuttle pilot and a bounty hunter.”

  It tore at Bacoj’s heart to see Vax’s lower lip tremble. It not only hurt to see his Imdiko suffer, but it also brought home how much he himself didn’t want to let Lindsey go.

  Vax wasn’t giving up easily. “There is no shame in what we do. Once this assignment is over and we return to Kalquor you could be a security guard. A law officer. You and Bacoj will move up with promotions, I’ll go back to being head chef and maybe open my own establishment in a few years.”

  Bacoj sighed heavily. “These things take time to happen, Vax. She deserves the best now.”

  Vax looked at Lindsey, and the other two followed suit. Bacoj’s gaze traced over her precious face, over the sweet body he’d made love to only minutes before. The thought of her sharing herself with another clan made him want to tear things apart with his bare hands. MINE, his heart insisted. But his common sense told him different.

  Vax’s voice was choked. “If you make us do this, you’d better understand me, Bacoj. I won’t clan another Matara.”

  The anger in the Imdiko’s tone shook Bacoj. Vax had never spoken to him with so much venom. But he was Dramok, and that meant taking responsibilities he didn’t always want, even at the risk of alienating his clanmates.

  Vax was right in his assertion. Lindsey was the only woman for them, even if they couldn’t have her. His voice tight with emotion, Bacoj said, “No, no other Matara will do. We won’t find another like Lindsey.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lindsey walked along the beach remaining within sight of the Kalquorian base camp. The search party had already begun packing up to leave now that their mission had been completed. One of the buildings had already come down and she’d watched the Kalquorians fold the seemingly solid metal walls like bedsheets. What amazing technology the race possessed, she thought.

  And yet for all their advanced knowledge, they still couldn’t save their own species without Earther females. Nor could they salvage Earth. Looking out over the ocean sparkling in the warm sunshine, the blameless golden sand beneath her feet, it was hard to accept her world would be uninhabitable within a matter of months. She’d discovered that not only was the Galactic Council racing to save the human survivors of the catastrophe, but they also had sent several contingents of scientists whose sole purpose was to collect DNA from the various flora and animal life. The search had begun for a suitable planet to terraform to restart those species so they wouldn’t be lost forever.

  So many things to shed tears over: grief for her father and planet as well as gratitude for the kindness of so many other species, some of which had been counted as Earth’s enemies.

  A whistle sounded and Lindsey looked towards the base camp. Three shapes headed her way, and she swiped the wetness from her cheeks. Her clan, for which she was the most thankful for, was coming to collect her.

  It stunned Lindsey how her heart swelled just to see them. She continued to marvel at how she’d fallen in love so completely, so fast. But she no longer questioned it. It was right. She knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

  Even the strain in the three men’s postures did little to alleviate how calm their mere presence made her feel. The bit of worry that nagged at her was like the buzzing of a persistent fly at an otherwise lovely picnic; a mild irritant only.

  She hurried to them and threw her arms around Bacoj’s neck. “How bad was it?” she asked.

  He smiled down at her, his eyes warming despite the tension that caused tiny creases around them. “No too bad. Commendation for save Earthers from Tragooms. Crash also make find Empress’ family. No discipline action for crashing shuttle.”

  Lindsey went on tiptoe to plant a kiss on his lips. She felt the swell of interest against her abdomen and grinned. “That’s a relief.”

  He nodded, his arms circling around her waist to pull her closer. “New shuttle sent soon. We leave few days.”

  “Where are we going?”

  The tightness around his eyes increased. “Clan go to Atlanta.” He took a deep breath. “Lindsey, transport go to Kalquor in four days.”

  She frowned. “You’re not suggesting I go without you?”

  Japohn stepped close. “You wish to see sister.”

  She stared up at him. He was glowering more than usual Japohn fashion. She recognized her Nobek was very unhappy. Did he think she wanted to leave them? “Yes, I want to see Jessica, but don’t I belong with my clan?”

  He looked away. “We station here for year while rescuing continue. Trip nine months to reach Kalquor.”

  Bacoj added gently, “Imperial Mother Tara need you with Imperial Father Aaron gone.”

  She glanced at Vax, who stood a little apart from them. His stance was stiff, his expression withdrawn. They were trying to get rid of her. A spark of anger ignited, and she quashed it. They were only thinking of her best interests after all.

  “I’ve already discussed the situation with my mother, and she’s assured me she’ll be fine. Almost two years is too long for me to be separated from you.” At their continued strained silence, an ugly thought rose to choke her voice. “Unless you don’t want me as your Matara?”

  Bacoj snapped, “Of course we want Lindsey.” He struggled visibly with his emotions for a moment before saying in a softer voice, “We want what is best for you.”

  Well, that was a relief. She’d thought for a moment they would make her leave. She stroked Bacoj’s chest, admiring how the sleeveless formsuit molded to his sculpted torso. “Guess what I want right now?”

  He swelled against her in response. When his lips crushed down on hers and his tongue invaded her mouth, she melted against him, her insides going molten in an instant. The Dramok yanked her clothes off with almost brutal force. He ravished her breasts with powerful hands as his mouth took hers with cruel passion. She moaned, a little frightened and a lot turned on by his ruthless possession.

  Holding her tight in his arms, Bacoj crashed them down onto the sand. She felt his hand work between them, freeing his penises from his formsuit. They sprang free of his clothing, landing on her bare belly hard and slick. She grabbed hold of them, wriggling to get them in position for his first thrust.

  With a drawn-out groan, Bacoj pressed in fast and hard. Lindsey arched beneath him with a cry at the abrupt penetration, the painful pleasure of determined possession immediately stoking her inner fire. Her Dramok lifted up as if doing a pushup, looking down on her as he rode her with authority. Balancing on one hand, he grasped her wrists with the other, pinning them to the sand over her head.

  “I love see you like this,” he growled, his fangs showing. “Helpless. Forced give what I want to take. Face soft with want for me. Mine.”

  “Yours, my Dramok,” she sobbed. The initial ache of his strong lovemaking was fading into delicious licks of heat, warming her insides. He pounded against her in long, sure strokes, filling her with both lengths to bursting. She warbled as he drove her steadily to glory.

  He brought her with grim determination, the orgasm swift and furious. Then again. Still Bacoj did not vary his pace, continuing to ply her with the same steady thrusts, driving her to the precipice once more. Lindsey sobbed and shrieked, her cries rising above the screams of the nearby seagulls.

  * * * *

  Bacoj fought against Lindsey’s clutching sex, refusing to succumb to the sweet invitation to fill her well with his seed. He wanted to stay inside her forever, making her writhe as she did now, her eyes unfocused as yet another rush of rapture claimed her, making her jerk in helpless spasms. He owned her, mastered her, possessed her completely. And he had to let her go.

  The pain in his heart was overwhelming. He wanted to die right here and now, making love to his beautiful Lindsey. To perish while seated in her welcoming warmth seemed so right. To live without her seemed an impossibility. He’d never known such agony as what faced him now.

  She crescendoed again, and this time his body disobeyed his command, rushing to explode with hers. The eruption began in the base of his spine, clenching his buttocks as it steamrolled through his loins, charging through his larger organ and erupting inside her, filling her, making him a part of her. He was dimly aware of his roars shattering the air as his cock jerked and wrenched within the tight confines of her hearth. Electric pulses traveled to his fingertips and toes.

  And through the excruciating joy of joining, the pain came crashing back, worse for the sweetness of their bodies fused together for perhaps the final time. Sorrow suffused his being, choking Bacoj.

  * * * *

  As her body pulsed in the aftermath of ecstasy, Lindsey looked at the man over her with a growing sense of disquiet. Bacoj was crying. The big, confident man had tears streaming down his cheeks, dripping off his chin to wet her face.

  Before she could catch her breath to ask if he was all right, he pulled free, leaving her horribly empty. He moved aside and Japohn took his place.

  “Lindsey,” the Nobek said, his voice rough. He seated himself within her quickly, despite how tight she was from her recent climaxes. She whimpered with the effort of yielding to the well-endowed man, but his strength made her melting soft with acquiescence. She shuddered in delightful torment, especially when he lifted her off the sand to rest on his kneeling thighs. The position, with all her weight pressing her down, pushed him as far into her as her slight body would allow. He scraped her cervix, bringing sensation of such intensity she suffered a small, softly rolling climax right away.

  He held her tightly to himself, keeping her pinned in place until her body quieted again. His hand fisted in her hair, holding her cheek to his wide, smooth chest. She listened to his heart boom, lulling her to a place of complete trust.

  Japohn rose up straight on his knees, continuing to hold her tight to his body. His hips swung slowly back and forth, running his lengths in and out of her channels with luscious friction. His groin rubbed her clit, sending sparkling darts of pleasure shivering through her body. She moaned throatily, a willing receptacle for his needs.

  Lindsey felt she hung for a sweet eternity like that, warm and safe in the Nobek’s arms as he loved her thoroughly, completely. He gently pulled on her hair, tugging her face into position so he could invade with his probing tongue, taking her mouth with the same deliberate care as he took her sex and anus. She dissolved against him, seeking to meld to him so completely that they may never be parted.