Claimed

Claimed

Elle Amour Mate Seekers, Book One

Trista is living every middle-aged woman’s fantasy—she wakes to find her body is pre-kids, pre-stretch marks and pre-gravity. Oh yeah! What’s more, the lover sharing her fantasy—blond hair, piercing turquoise eyes and a sculpted body to drool over— makes her feel like the sexy teen she was back when he first visited her dreams. Except this is no fantasy, and Rurik the Conqueror is no dream lover. He’s real, he’s not from Earth, and this time he’s come to claim her. Rurik had known Trista of Earth was his by the Svendian way—her scent. A war and fears for her safety were all that kept him from staking his claim years ago, but no longer. He needs her like he needs his next breath. But unknown forces intrude on his plans and Rurik finds she’s in greater danger than ever. This time he’s not giving up, and he’ll die to protect the woman who completes his soul in a way he never imagined.

An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication

www.ellorascave.com

Claimed ISBN 9781419925023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Claimed Copyright © 2010 Elle Amour Edited by Sue-Ellen Gower Cover art by Dar Albert Electronic book publication March 2010 The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, 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 44310-3502. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. 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 author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

CLAIMED Elle Amour

Dedication This book is dedicated to my husband and best friend, who has been my biggest supporter; my editor, Suz; and to you, the reader. Enjoy this new world of Mate Seekers, and many blessings to you and yours.

Trademarks Acknowledgement The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction: ET: Universal City Studios, Inc. Star Trek: Paramount Pictures Corporation

Elle Amour

Chapter One His woman. He could smell her in the mists. From behind a tree he watched her lope through the woods, gliding like a nymph. She’d grown older since he’d last spied her. He knew she would have a few lines on her face, a few white hairs she tried to cover up within her dark hair, but his blood still yearned for her. Hidden, Rurik watched a trickle of sweat roll down her face. She’d lost some weight since he last came. How many of Earth’s years had passed now? Too long. It was time he claimed her. She came closer, her head bowed toward the ground, seeming deep in thought. A green light whizzed past, almost nicking him. The laser struck a tree near the woman, causing her to lift her head and stare straight at him. Another shot fired as he pulled his pistol. His enemies had found him. “Run,” he yelled at her, wanting, needing her to get away. Another silent volley. Rurik grabbed her and ducked but too late. The laser had wounded her. “You,” she whispered, and collapsed into his arms.

***** A clean scent. Thick with moisture. That’s what hit Trista first. She sucked in a breath then groaned. Her eyes hurt. She felt them behind her closed lids. And she lay… On what? Her body felt light, as if suspended in air. Murmurings drifted to her. The same voices she’d thought she’d heard before, another moment when she tried to wake and couldn’t. Her lids fluttered open, for a longer period this time. Her pupils focused. She lay in a coffin. Well, a see-through one. She could see the outside. A room. A medical room? She remembered something hitting her chest. At least the sensation felt as if she’d been hit. Her heart. Had she finally had the attack her cardiologist warned her about? And here she thought she’d done so well, exercising, losing weight, getting her cholesterol level down. She visualized the plaque on her box of ashes—Trista Sorenson Jamison, fifty. Lovely. But the man was there. The one in her dreams. Who was he? Not real. She shook her head, her mind still slow from the drugs they must have given her. She was only imagining things again. She’d done that a lot lately, 6

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daydreaming about the lover she’d made up so many years ago. Trista knew the fantasy was an escape mechanism. Something to take her mind off her messy divorce. Her counselor had said as much. But she liked the dream. Her fantasy was the one place she felt most sure of herself. Lights flashed in a panel across the room. Voices came to her again but she couldn’t make out the words. Her eyes flickered as she glanced around, turning her head to take in more of her surroundings. The stiffness in her neck prevented her from seeing behind her yet she noticed the light in the room seemed to come from the walls, the whole wall, not just one spot. Weird. This was the oddest medical facility she’d seen. Struggling, she attempted to speak but the noise that came from her sounded more like a squeak. She closed her eyes. Her weakened body wanted to sleep again but Trista forced her mind to stay awake. She needed to assess the damage, find out what was wrong with her. Was she dead? A figure moved into her line of vision, blocking the panel lights. With his back to her, the large man seemed to study whatever information he could glean from what she guessed was a computer. He had shoulder-length, dark brown hair and looked particularly well built, if she judged correctly how well he fit his calf-length blue coat. Hmmm. Perhaps she wasn’t dead, only dreaming again? The man turned and stared at her. A strange mixture of desire and professionalism gleamed in his pale blue eyes. The stare seemed to pierce her skin. A corner of his mouth lifted in a quirky smile, highlighting his cheekbones and the dimple that showed. He was young, well, much younger than she, and handsome. She blushed and closed her eyes, running a hand over her face and then her body. Oh God. She was naked. “Cedric,” the man uttered, his voice sultry. “Tell the commander she’s awake.” A younger, blond Viking of a man peeped at her with a pleased smile. She reached to cover herself but whatever injury she’d sustained prevented her from moving fast enough. He got a good look before he turned away. She grimaced, not knowing whether to be embarrassed that these men had seen her nude or utterly horrified that they had studied her droopy boobs and the stretch lines that crisscrossed her abdomen from her two pregnancies. Before she could decide, the younger man marched away. She could hear his footsteps on the floor and a door that swooshed open. The other man approached. Resting his arm on the coffin, he pressed something along the side then asked, “I know you’ll find it hard to talk. Nod if you can. How do you feel? If good, nod once. If not, we’ll see what we can do.” She attempted a nod. “Bet—ter,” she rasped. “Where…” Her lips could only form the words.

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His smile grew more toward the professional end. “You’ll be a hundred percent in no time.” He pressed a few more buttons then lifted the lid of the enclosure and stroked a finger against her face. “In fact, I think the commander will be quite pleased.” Commander? She heard the door swoosh again, the footsteps that approached. The man from her dreams stood beside the other, a worried arch in his blond brows and a pointed look in his turquoise-colored eyes. A bit taller than she remembered, his shoulders a bit larger, he wore a fitted blue shirt that opened in a vee at the front, exposing much of his upper chest. The black pants he wore were made of some material that lay so tight on him she could see the muscles bulging in his legs—and elsewhere. His large penis lay nestled in the crotch of his pants. He placed his fists on his hips. “Thank you, Alaric.” The other man nodded. “Remember, everything was restored. Be gentle.” A corner of her dream man’s mouth rose. “I’ll remember.” He released a soft chuckle. “If I recall properly, the first time I breeched her, she welcomed the act.” Alaric smirked. “If you say so, Rurik.” Breached her. Huh? The commander reached for her and lifted her into his arms, coddling her bared body against his chest. “It’s time I claimed you.” His rich voice brushed the skin of her heated cheek. Claimed her? She wanted to know what he meant, where she was, but tiredness won in the end. As darkness befell her once more, her dream lover’s deep voice echoed in her head. I claimed you. And somewhere in her muddled brain, she dreamed she lay sated in his arms once again.

***** Rurik hoped she’d wake soon. Alaric, the ship’s main healer and his best friend, had assured him she would be fine, so he’d brought her to his room and put her in his bed. Yet she slept. And that worried him. He frowned. Although they had outrun their enemies and were on their way to his home planet of Svendia, he wondered if he should go back to the bridge. There was much to do. The cowards who had attacked him were still at large. Yet as he gazed at the woman’s naked beauty, he couldn’t pull himself away. Her body glowed with renewed health as if a siren welcoming his touch. Thank the ancestors Alaric retained the skills to restore her. She moaned and rolled to one side, exhaling, mumbling. He wondered what thoughts went through her mind as she slumbered. She remembered him. She wasn’t supposed to. Every time he’d mated with her, he’d treated her with the laser that removed such memories. Yet she had remembered him.

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He pressed his lips together, worried about the consequences of his rash action in taking her aboard. Long ago, he’d visited the planet. A respite, an adventure he wanted and needed. There he found the woman. From her scent, he knew she was his. After many Earth years and much more political effort and haggling on his side, he finally got the Svendian council to at least consider his proposal to mate with her, especially the lead politician, his uncle Craddock. As headmaster, his uncle kept the council under tight rein. Rurik grimaced. Even now, so many sleep cycles after his father’s untimely death, there were those who opposed the mating with an off-worlder, even though most females and many males of his time were sterile. He gazed at her iridescent form, a temporary result of the healing treatment that repaired all the functions in her body. Even though he as yet did not have the full council approval, this time he had taken a chance to go to Earth, a small, out-of-the-way planet that both his ancestors and the ancestors of his enemies had settled in the ancient past. The planet was a place where fertile females continued to thrive. His enemies had followed him there in numbers, hoping, Rurik knew, to capture him, but how had they known where he’d gone? The secret had remained with his loyal few. Who could have betrayed him? Trista moaned again and turned toward him. She batted her eyes then peered at the ceiling. “Hello.” He listened to his voice, knowing it was the translator implant in his body allowing him to speak her language, yet the sounds of the ancients always intrigued him. She looked at him. “You’re…here again.” Her voice wavered. He strode to her and sat on the bed. “How do feel?” He fingered the soft strands of her hair. “I…” Her green eyes narrowed. “Am I dead?” Her voice grew stronger. Rurik sighed in relief. “Hardly. You’re fully restored. Well, almost. When you’ve rested more, your healing will be complete. There will be nothing wrong with you. Nothing.” She lifted a brow. “Really?” The word echoed with sarcasm. Then she laughed softly to herself. “Well, this is the most interesting fantasy I’ve had in a while.” She gazed at her naked body then looked at him. “I guess I like to be nude. In my dreams at least. Or is that some condition of yours?” He pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. “I prefer it.” “Ah.” She rubbed his leg. A come-on smile graced her lush lips. “This is a dream then, some inner fantasy, because when I’m awake, I certainly try to stay covered as much as possible.” He wondered why she would hide her luscious body. “You’re not in a dream, woman.” He worked to keep the anguish from his voice, the pain of almost losing her.

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He caressed the side of her waist then slid his hand across her belly. The lines she’d had there were gone now, one of the effects of full-body restoration. Alaric had said those marks were the ancient signs of childbearing. Good. He knew she’d already had two children. He’d seen them often from a distance. Knowing they’d been there reassured him that his match with her would bring forth a needed heir and people to replenish their clan. His fingers traversed her rib cage to her breast. The silky feel of her skin made him ache for her. His cock stiffened. He worked to control his breathing. He couldn’t simply take her this time. For one thing, for all intents and purposes she was a virgin again. He wanted her to enjoy their mating. More importantly, she had to agree to this. He wasn’t about to erase her memory. He needed to mate, bring an heir to life if his sperm could impregnate her. Yet before she could agree, she had to realize this was real, not some dream. There was no going back to her world. Not now. Not when he was this close to the claiming, the ancient rite of choosing a life mate. With bridled passion, he molded his fingers around her breast, squeezing the mound gently as he slipped them toward her nipple. Her back arched in pleasure. She lifted her breast to him. Her eyes grew heavylidded. “It’s been too long,” she crooned, her voice roughened with desire. “Too long?” He wasn’t sure what she meant. From all indications she had conjoined with a man many times. “Too…long since…” Her eyes opened. She stared at him with lust. He pinched her nipple. She moaned as her lids closed once more. “Since this?” He licked the peak of her breast as he rolled the knob between his fingers. “Yes.” Her breathy voice stirred him, made his hard-on throb as the blood filled his organ. Why had she waited so long for sex? Curious. Still, for some reason her confession pleased him. He wanted to tease her more. “And this?” He pinched her clit and tugged on the flesh. “Oh!” Her hips shot straight up. He grinned. “As usual, you are ready for me. Almost.” A sure indication that the fates meant for them to be together. Panting, she lifted her head. “As usual?” “Yes.” She frowned. “Ready for what?” He arched a brow, amused by her muddled state, one caused by her recent healing and intense sexual reaction. “To fuck you, of course. And complete the claiming ritual.” He slid a fingertip to the entrance of her vaginal canal, stopping before he hit her newly restored hymen. 10

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“Oh,” she purred with seduction, “of course. We’ve done this before.” “Yes, my lady.” With that he released her and stood to shed his coverings, not able to resist her any longer. When his member sprang free, she rose on her elbows and smiled. “Thank God I have an imagination. Otherwise I’d never get any sex.” He wanted to question her about her abstinence but the thought left him as she touched his steel-hard dick. With her last breath, she caressed his rod then placed her lips over the soft flesh of his tip. By the ancestors. He almost lost his precious semen in her mouth. “Mmm, you taste so good.” Trista licked and suckled his tip. A bead of pre-cum leaked and she savored the musky, salty taste. “Woman…” His voice quivered. He rested his palms on her shoulders. She could tell he held himself back. “Yes.” She released her breath against the slit at the tip of his purpled head. He wanted her. Bad. “You cannot take me in your mouth.” “Why not?” Trista exhaled against him and glanced at her muscular phantasm, the man with the body of a god. She relished the game she played with him. He half shut his blue eyes as his body shook. “You want me,” she taunted. He fixed a penetrating gaze on her. “Yes. And I will have you, but first you must verbally agree to the union. That will seal our bond until the formal ceremony.” “Oh honey. Trust me on this. I’d agree to anything with you. Just name it.” A corner of his mouth lifted into a half-cocked grin. “Become my life mate.” Trista giggled. This was getting better all the time. “Sure. Whatever you say.” His face grew emotionless as he took her hand and molded her fingers around his hard cock and stroked. “Then you agree to our union?” His rich, silky voice titillated her nerve endings and made them scream for the promise of pleasure his body made. “Yeah baby. Take me. Take me now.” Geez, she was hot. Something about this entire weird thing stirred her waning libido like crazy. Another by-product of menopause? She’d been told things like this could happen, that she would have surges in her libido, but she hadn’t believed it. She was always too controlled. Who would believe this would happen to her? Ah hell. Go with it. It’s a dream. Who will know? Unless she told the marriage therapist. But why should she? After nearly thirty-three years of marriage, she’d divorced her ex, Seth-the-butthead-Jamison long ago. The counseling was more for him. Sure, he had wanted to work some things through. Like having her and his new wife at the same time.

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Trista grimaced then got mad. He’d only used her again with the therapist to try to make up to their two kids. He’d forced her into a position to go along with the counseling. Hell, he’d dumped her for another younger, thinner woman. Why should she care what he thought? Fuck it. Trista glanced at the man in front of her, the embodiment of everything she desired. Why shouldn’t she indulge? It was a dream, right? The best dream she’d had to date. He stood there naked with his hands on his hips, studying her, waiting, as if knowing she was thinking this through. “Understand that your agreement puts me in charge of you. You cannot go back to your old life. You will be mine for the rest of our time together.” Why would she want to go back to her old life? It sucked. Besides, let’s see, this would last, ah, one night? Hell, the fantasy was worth it. Yet he seemed so serious. “Yes,” she said in a softer voice, meaning it as a reminder to herself, wanting her dream man to know she never wanted to relive her past. “But tell me one thing.” “Name it.” He bent over and placed his hands on either side of her head, bringing his mouth within inches of hers. “What do I call you?” she whispered against his lips. When he smiled this time his eyes sparkled. “Rurik, the Conqueror.” She giggled. “Of course. I should have known.” She reached her hand behind his neck and pulled her imaginary lover to her, taking his lips with hers.

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Chapter Two Rurik’s arms slid around her to hold her tight against his broad, muscled chest. Gently, yet with intense passion, he took over the kiss, his mouth unyielding against hers, the onslaught making her whimper with need. She could feel the wetness blooming between her legs. “I will die to protect you, and I will protect you always,” her fantasy man whispered against her cheek. He paused to let her breathe and his hand came around to palm her breast. “If you say so,” she murmured against his earlobe, wondering why he would make such a declaration, yet letting her hands explore his hard body, savoring the seemingly real feel of him. She licked the lobe she’d teased with her exhalations before she suckled the flesh in her mouth. The sharp intake of his breath let her know how much he wanted her. He pulled away slightly and stared at her, a serious and deadly glint in his eyes as his penis pulsated against her leg. “The attack. That will never happen again. You will never be at risk. I will not lose you. I swear.” She ran the tip of her finger against the sharp line of his strong chin. His intensity wrapped around her spirit. “I believe you,” she murmured, thinking this dream had more depth than any she’d had before. He meant what he said. It was as if she could feel his passion. “I’ve dreamed about you before,” she pulled him to her and whispered in his ear, afraid she’d wake up and he’d disappear again. “How many times?” He turned his head to study her, his turquoise eyes penetrating her emotional defenses, his hand gently brushing the hair from her cheek. “Several, but two that seemed so real I could never forget.” She furrowed her brows. “Funny. Those dreams left me so horny I really needed to screw, you know what I mean? I was so turned on that a vibrator just didn’t cut it, not after a wet dream like that. Whew.” She smiled, remembering the shock on Seth’s face when she jumped his bones. The first time it happened, they’d only been dating. He’d been pushing her for months to fuck but she’d begged off. Then wham. When she found she was pregnant, they married. Hell, she thought she was in love, thought her dreams were some weird extension of Seth, but every time she made love to her ex, she’d actually imagined the man in front of her. When they separated, she took most of the blame on herself, thinking the problem was those constant fantasies that drove him from their bed. When at first she tried to get him to work their problems through, Seth informed her he’d only married her because he thought her a hot lay and an easy way to get his rocks off. Being a careful man, he

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didn’t want to catch anything. Hell, he could fuck her all he wanted without a condom. And if they got a couple of kids in the bargain, that was okay by him. The kids would be an extension of him. Such hazards were bound to happen with his potent masculinity. Besides, what more could a man want? What more indeed. She sighed and ran her hands over Rurik’s sculpted torso, knowing she’d never put up with something like that again. She gazed into his questioning face. “Well, at least in this world we don’t need a condom. Can’t be knocked up now anyways. Haven’t had sex in months. Besides, I’m too old.” She somewhat regretted the thought. Being younger, having another child to love with a man she truly cherished… That would be a blessing. Not that she would love her real children any less, it was just… She didn’t know what the “just” meant but the warmth the thought gave her felt good. Made things right with her world. She closed her eyelids to shoo away the dismal reminder of Seth’s betrayal, knowing she needed to reconstruct her world and feel good about herself. Opening them, she looked into her made-up lover’s face, realizing that even now she imagined him. Funny thing, she’d mumbled the words about getting pregnant to herself but she thought her conqueror may have bitten the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing—or smiling—or both. She wasn’t sure. “I still want you.” His smooth, deep baritone voice resonated with passion. Oh yeah, those were the thoughts she wanted going through her mind. Not some shit dealing with Seth or her aging bones. She shifted her leg to stroke his phallus with her thigh, delving into her trance, wondering if she was dead or simply asleep. “I can see that.” “Besides…” His ragged breaths caressed her cheek. The corner of his mouth cocked upward. “You might be surprised what your body will do.” He captured her mouth with his then whispered against her moist lips. “I will have a child from you.” His hand left her breast and teased its way to her clit, fingering the wet flesh, tantalizing the tender skin by massaging and pulling on the small nub, driving her menopausal libido into hyperdrive. “How?” She could not control her husky response. She wanted him, needed him now. He chuckled against her neck. “I told you your body was restored. I will prove it to you after I’m satisfied that you have been sated and cannot take any more foreplay.” She gulped. “It’s been a while. I think I’m already there.” “Not yet.” His saucy smile made her heated body shiver in anticipation. “I know what you like. I remember the ecstasy you had in my arms.” He kissed her again. His teeth grazed over her lower lip and he left trails of heated pecks down her cheek, traveling to her neck as he lowered himself to her breast. When he reached the tender nub of her areola, he gently teethed that too then captured the hardened nipple in his mouth and tongued the peak. 14

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Her chest rose to meet his onslaught. She mewed her pleasure. “Rurik,” she breathed as his finger outlined her wet labia. “Man, I’ve needed this.” “Good.” His breath caressed her skin. He lightly chuckled. “That’s another promise I’ll make you. To keep you as sated as I can. Always.” He committed himself to keeping her satisfied? That was a first. She gulped to hold back a wall of black emotions that threatened to overwhelm her, thinking her fantasizing would be the death of her. A fault she had come to realize blinded her to the problems in her first marriage. She didn’t need anyone to make her happy—or to satisfy her. Wasn’t that what she’d told herself? “You’ll never leave then?” “Never. We will be together always. You are mine now—or will be when I have taken you.” He eased his forefinger against the portal to her womb and thumbed the nubbin that defined her sex. She shoved her hips upward against his palm and groaned, sending the dark thoughts of betrayal and abandonment to the nether reaches of her mind. Right now was about her and about satiating her thrumming libido. She rubbed her pussy against his hand, wanting more, but he’d yanked his finger away too fast. She pouted. She wanted him to penetrate her to the hilt. Feel the full length of his finger. Clench the tiny muscles in her vagina against him and sense the fullness of actual skin-to-skin contact within her. “Take me.” Her voice sounded so hoarse she didn’t even recognize herself. “Now.” He propped himself on his elbow and studied her, his hand coming again against her mons, his fingers alternating between rubbing and tweaking the nub of her sex and outlining her labia. “When I do,” he kissed her, “it will be like the first time.” She smirked. “I could use some firsts.” “Then I will make certain that you are ready for me. I don’t want to hurt you. I promise this will never pain you again.” Pain her? She didn’t know what he meant. How many times had she been laid? It didn’t matter. All thought left her as he kissed her mouth, plundering the inside with passion. She moaned and inhaled his musky scent. He smelled like sex. She wanted more of what his body promised. She ran her hands up his sinewy chest and fingered the spattering of hairs upon his skin then let the tips of her fingers meander toward his nipples. She grasped his small nubs and gently squeezed. He sucked in a breath. “Woman, do not tempt me to take you too soon.” His heady voice stroked her as he shifted to suckle the folds of her neck again then drift lower, stopping to lave and suck her other breast. She whimpered with the stimulating sensation, anticipation stoking her ardor as he worked his slow, torturous pecks down her body. When he reached her pussy, he settled his chest between her legs and exhaled pointedly against her clit. Between the strokes of his finger and his warm breath teasing

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her heightened sex, she almost came, but he wouldn’t let her. Instead, he kept her teasingly on the edge, causing her excitement to slightly ebb then flow until she teetered on the precipice again. “Rurik,” she panted, hardly able to speak, “please…” He lifted his finger and sucked her cream off the tip, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. “I’ve always enjoyed the taste of your body.” “Mmmm,” she moaned, the inflection of her voice pleading for his body in hers. “Rurik…” She could barely speak. He fingered her labia and lowered his mouth to her crotch, nipping the insides of her legs, tonguing with deliberate slowness to her vee. She reached for him, running her fingers as best as she could through his long, golden locks. “Touch yourself for me.” “Huh?” “Feel yourself.” “But…” She’d never dreamed of doing that before. Not while she fantasized about being with a man, especially this one. But why not? This illusion was to satiate her hormonal, crazed sex drive, right? Who would care? She rubbed her fingers up her sides, grasped her breasts and slid the tips of her digits to her nipples then squeezed. Rurik groaned and took her clit into his mouth, sucking it, teasing the tender flesh with his tongue and his teeth. “Oh!” Her hips bucked upward and pressed against his lips. With her body so inflamed, her cries of passion grew louder until she couldn’t take anymore, until all she knew was the hot feel of him on her. She squeezed her nipples harder as her climax came, then collapsed against the bed when her ardor was finally spent. As sanity returned, her ragged breathing slowed. “I must have needed this more than I realized. I am soooo glad I remembered you tonight.” At some point, she must have closed her eyes because when she opened them again, she thought for sure she’d be awake and in her room at home, but the strange place was the same. And there was a heavy someone between her legs. “Boy, this really is some dream.” She gazed at Rurik. He looked at her and cocked his brow. “I told you this was no dream.” “Hmmmm.” She quirked the side of her mouth upward. “I must not want to let you go. I’ll have to analyze the psychology of that later.” She pursed her lips. “It’s probably a hormonal thing. At least that’s one good thing about menopause—hot sex, even if it is imagined.” She lifted her hips to stretch. The nub of her sex brushed against the few hairs on his chest and she felt the juices from her vagina trickle down her perineum to coat her anus. The sensation rocketed her nerve endings, jolting them with a hard driving need once more.

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She wanted him. Again. All of him. “You know, I’m not going to stop dreaming about you right now until you fuck me.” If the gleam in his blue eyes was any indication, he was more than willing, even with her aged body. With deliberate ease, he ran his finger from the rim of her anus to her labia, wiping the cream from her skin then lifting his hand and licking her essence off his finger once more. “You really like that, don’t you?” She raised herself on her elbows to see him better, curious as to what he—or in reality, she—found so fascinating. A dimple showed when he grinned. “Yes, don’t you?” The comment took her aback. “I wouldn’t know.” He arched a brow again. “Have you never tasted yourself?” “Ah…no?” The dream was getting kinkier all the time, yet she found she enjoyed it. Nothing had stimulated her this hard in many moons. “Then you must.” He slid his muscular body over her abdomen and offered his finger to her. She pulled her head back. “Why?” “Because you should know yourself. And because I want you to know why I want you so badly. Taste.” He held his finger closer. Why he wants me so badly? Oh yeah. This dream was only getting better. She’d never allowed herself this much sexual freedom. Ever. Swallowing, she hesitated, questioning why she wanted this. He pushed his finger closer. She let the tip of her tongue ease between her lips and lick. Different. She didn’t know what it would taste like but the salty fluid was nothing like the barbs her ex used to throw at her, saying she smelled like fish. Fish. Right. The scent was more flowery. “Well?” He eased his body up hers even more. His face neared her breasts. She smiled. “Not my cup of tea but it doesn’t taste bad like I thought it would.” He chuckled. “No, it doesn’t. Now, my lady…” He reached for her cunt and massaged her mound. “It’s my turn.” He slid down her body again and sucked the nubbin of her sex, teased the bundle of nerves with his teeth while one of his hands grasped her breast and kneaded the flesh, tweaking her nipple and rolling the skin between his fingers. Her gasps of pleasure grew louder. She let her head drop backward. Her arms quivered with the need of her body, the limbs barely able to hold her weight. Her cream drenched her legs, and she knew his hand would be wet as well. Then he pulled himself up against her, one of his arms holding her to him, his pulsing member brushing the cleft between her legs, titillating her sex, rousing her already frenetic libido to a higher plane as he gently laid her back and rested atop her. “Tell me you’ll have me forever, Trista. That you know I am no dream.” He held his

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penis in his hand, slowly stroking the swollen head against her clit, driving her to distraction. Through heavily lidded eyes, she stared into his. The various hues of blue and green in them said so much. A swirl of emotions that pleaded, that desired, that needed her as much as she needed him. He wanted her. Forever. He seemed so real. Had she gone mad? She must be but she didn’t care. It was a good mad, one she could live in for an eternity, because she wanted him to be there. She swallowed. A small voice in her head warned her that if she agreed, life would never be the same. To hell with it. Gone was the timid woman she had been. It was time she lived again. “Yes, Rurik. I’ll have you. Forever.” She reached for him and pulled his head to hers, taking his mouth and plunging her tongue within. The head of his rod teased her folds and pulsed in the entrance. She panted against his lips, needing him with a desperation she’d forgotten she could feel. “Take me, Rurik the Conquerer. Make me your conquest.” She could sense his smile against her mouth. “Then forgive any discomfort this one time.” She nodded—then he plunged his staff into her.

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Chapter Three Trista gasped as Rurik’s powerful thrust tore into her. For a moment there was an uncomfortable sensation, but only a moment as his ample member filled her, her walls gripping him, not wanting to let him go. She moaned then thought, was that her hymen? No, couldn’t be. A virgin? She had two children, for pity’s sake. But there it was. She’d felt her virginity rendered. Well, she dreamed she did. She was asleep, right? Probably in a hospital. Maybe the meds they gave her had caused these weird visions? Regardless, when she’d first imagined this warrior, she’d been a virgin. And when he’d popped her cherry then it felt very much the same. Hell, when it happened for real, when she finally got it on with Seth, she didn’t feel a damn thing. Very weird. “Are you okay?” Rurik’s heat and his breath against her cheek brought her thoughts back to him. She fingered his sculpted shoulders. He felt so good, so real. Where was she? She should try to wake. “Beloved?” A worried tone threaded through the man’s heady voice. His penis pulsed inside her. Aw, to hell with it. She needed this first. Then she’d wake up and figure out where in the world she was and what was going on. She smiled at her warrior. “I’m fine. Screw me good, Rurik. Good and slow. I want to treasure this.” She squeezed her vaginal walls around him, savoring the feel of him inside her, knowing with her waning sex hormones this might be the last time she could sense this with so much passion. Then she ground her hips and clit against his crotch. That feels so good. She thought Rurik must have thought so, too. Moaning his agreement, he clenched her to his powerful chest and rocked his member inside her, good and slow. When he pulled outward, the friction only built, leaving her breathless for the surging thrust to come. Instead of plunging right back in, he let his penis hover at her entrance, teasing, taunting her for more. The mix of sensations was more than she could take. She whimpered and lifted her hips as she grasped his butt and pulled him into her. “More.” He chuckled in her ear. “I thought you wanted your pleasure slow.” She shook her head back and forth against the soft sheets. “Can’t take it. Fuck me hard. I need this.”

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He grasped her then, his hands firmly on her rear, and shoved his large rod swiftly inside her. She arched into him, letting him take her any way he wanted. Again, a thrust. And again. His sex stroked her labia, her walls, the crescendo of his tempo driving her lust toward a pinnacle she had only reached when she dreamed of him. She could feel him inside, touching, pounding all the erogenous spots she knew his hard cock would reach. “Yes!” One last stroke and her body screamed with pleasure, trembled at the fulfillment of her basic need as she tumbled into her long-awaited sexual indulgence— the release of years of unrequited passion. When she lay spent and limp in his arms, he plunged into her twice more then growled with his release. For silent moments they lay still, their bodies damp, his musky scent still tantalizing. When Trista’s breathing returned to normal, she lifted her hand to brush a lock of Rurik’s wheat-colored hair from his face and studied him, wondering what he thought. His eyes probed her as if asking the same question. He brushed his thumb against her cheek then placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “You are mine now. And I protect what is mine.” She knitted her brows and whispered, “What is it you want from me?” He smiled but a sadness echoed in the small lines around his eyes. “This. And the heirs you will bring. I am yours as well. You may ask anything of me to perform on you. We are unofficially bonded now. It is your right.” “My right?” His behavior really made her curious. She knew she was in la-la land but where in the hell was her mind going? He strummed her face with his large, calloused hand. “You must have questions. I can see them in your face.” “I do.” She pursed her lips. “Where am I? And why do I call you Rurik the Conqueror? What have you conquered? Never heard of the name Rurik. From what part of the world is that?” This time he clenched his jaw and she knew it was to keep from laughing. “Would you believe that I am not from your world?” “Pffff.” She pressed her lips together to keep from cracking up out loud, marveling at her vivid imagination. “Oh yeah. That I believe.” He looked at her, confused. “You know.” She waggled her brows. “This is a dream. Hello? Earth to Trista, you have finally lost all your screws.” Rurik closed his eyes as if in pain and shook his head. “Lost what screws?” “It’s an expression. It means I’m crazy. Insane. You know, ready for the loony bin.” He grasped her forearms and slid his hand to her wrists then moved her wrists upward and held them together above her head against the soft fabric of the bed. “Now 20

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listen to me, woman, and listen well.” His voice took on a velvet air of command. “You are not crazy. You are not sick at all. The ship’s healer has cured you. You are mine now and we are not on Earth. You must accept this.” “But…” He seemed so serious. She grimaced. She had to get her brain back in gear. “That can’t be. I mean, there’s no such thing as little, hairless aliens who visit our planet then beam off in some spaceship.” He kissed her cheek with a long, gentle touch and then did the same to the other. When he looked at her, his voice grew soft. “I am not hairless nor am I little.” She smiled seductively and rubbed her hips against his well-formed penis. “No, you certainly aren’t.” An appreciative spark glimmered in his eyes. “I’m glad you approve, but you must know you are on my ship. I am the commander of the fleet that came to Earth to get you. You are my woman and have been for some time, although we were never formally joined before this moment. Now, if you cannot believe this from my word, then tell me what I must do to convince you as it is imperative that we are mated. I must have heirs.” “But I’m too old for—” He took her lips with his and teased her mouth with his tongue. Reaching between her legs, he rubbed the folds of her sex then inserted his finger deep into her. When he pulled it out, he held his hand for her to see. “Does this help prove what I’ve been saying?” Could it be? Her virgin’s blood and other bodily fluids coated the tip. “Oh…my…God.” She was suddenly unable to handle any more bizarre thoughts. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, her last thought that this couldn’t be real, before she fell back to sleep.

***** “Is she okay?” Rurik stared at his woman as Alaric ran the sensing device over her body. His friend nodded. “She appears to be fine but she’s exhausted. Her mind and body just can’t take all this right now, so it shuts down to heal. Perhaps you exercised your newfound husbandly rights a might too hard?” He chuckled at his own play on words. “Piss off.” Rurik knew what he meant. Alaric had wanted him to wait before he bedded her but Rurik didn’t want to waste any more time. A fertile, unclaimed woman would be scooped up quickly—even by someone who didn’t have the need to bond with her. He wouldn’t take the chance he could lose her again. Especially to his enemies. Ones who had been known to steal mates. Alaric packed his instrument. “What she needs is more rest. I’m sure this,” he waved his hand over his head to indicate the spaceship, “has been a bit much for her. She’ll need some time. She did commit to you, didn’t she?”

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Rurik nodded. Alaric’s smug, knowing smile made Rurik uncomfortable. “Then when you get the final approval from the council, we can have the formal ceremony.” Rurik studied his woman, worried. “You don’t think that will be too much for her? Her world is so different. More like the ancestors who settled there.” “Yes.” Alaric studied the woman then smiled at Rurik. “But like some in their world, those who originally came wanted to live the old way. They lost much in doing so. The viruses and bacteria in this world have shortened their lifespan. The bugs make them age much faster than normal. And they’ve forgotten almost everything they should have known to save themselves. Each one of these people should live past eight hundred Earth years, yet…” He shrugged. Rurik inhaled a deep breath. “I’m glad we have cures for those now.” “I’m glad I could save her.” Rurik agreed. “What do you think her lifespan will be?” Alaric shrugged again. “She’s an adult woman. Perhaps a little more than yours, maybe less. It’s hard to tell since she grew to adulthood so fast.” “About five to six hundred more of their years then.” His loyal friend and comrade smirked. “I’d say at least that much, given good health. As to her current status, I’d guess at about three hundred and thirty-three in our years, maybe three hundred and thirty-four. Enough to match your four hundred and twenty-one. Physically you are a mite older.” He sniggered. “You didn’t happen to tell her your age, did you?” Rurik quirked the corner of his mouth upward. “You’re the one who suggested I take things slowly. I put first things, first.” Alaric snorted. “I can see that. Well, before you stun her any more with your revelations, I think you ought to cement the facts you’ve already shared. Maybe you can take her on a tour of the ship. I’m sure your warriors would like to meet the woman who forced their commander to drag them halfway across the galaxy.” “Which reminds me…” Rurik walked over to the console on the wall and waved his hand across the indicator screen, activating it. “Bjorn, is there more on the ones who attacked us?” “None,” his Number One replied. “We’re still searching. The team we left behind is gathering clues.” “Have they found anything linking the attack with the Vulgarians?” “No, not yet. Your sister took off to examine your woman’s former abode. Jinn should be reporting in soon.” He paused. “I don’t understand why they would attack us. Earth is neutral ground. An attack there would cause a full-scale war.” “Drakkar the Ruthless Bastard wouldn’t care.” Rurik knew the argument full well. He’d already pondered it a billion times, but if it wasn’t his nemesis, who? The Renegades, a sect of their race that had broken off from both Drakkar’s and Rurik’s 22

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worlds, were only after money and power, but even they wouldn’t have attacked Rurik or his crew on Earth. Yet the bigger question was who had betrayed him. Only a few warriors on his ship and his uncle on the council had known where he went. In order for the attackers to be waiting for him, they would’ve had to know his plans ahead of time. “Keep me posted. Out here.” He waved his hand in front of the screen again and the console went black. When he turned, he noted that Alaric’s worried frown matched his own. “There’s a traitor in our midst.” Rurik nodded. “I know. How to find him is the question. I don’t think they meant to harm my lady, yet…” Alaric nodded. “I’ll ponder this as well.” His woman stirred. Alaric glanced at her then back to him. “I’ll take my leave. When she awakes, feed her. She’ll need sustenance. Then take her on a tour of the ship. That should help.” Rurik scowled. “Her coverings have always been full-body. I don’t know if she’ll like what I give her to wear.” Alaric sniggered. “Maybe not, however I’m sure the men won’t mind.” The men? They would only stare at her luscious form. Rurik growled as Alaric made good his exit. The woman stirred again. “Doctor?” Her eyes fluttered open. She groaned as she turned to where Alaric had been when he last spoke. Rurik strode to the bed and sat next to her. “He left.” “You.” She glanced around again. After taking in her surroundings, she closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. “I’m still dreaming.” He cradled her in his arms and placed soft pecks on her cheek then down her neck. Trista moaned softly. “Why is it I can’t seem to get rid of you? I must be really horny because I want you again.” He knew what she meant. Every time they were together, he felt it too, this desperation to be with her, in her. He wondered if the sensation would wane over time. She fingered his pecs, lightly at first. Then her fingertips circled around and slid to his nipple, tugging on the small nub, barely twisting the skin. He groaned and buried his face in her neck. Her breathing deepened. “I’m so tired but I need you.” His cock stiffened. “Then you will have me. Whatever you want in this, I will give you.” He skimmed his hand down her sleek abdomen and fingered the vee of her sex. “You’re already wet.” She shot him a siren’s smile. “I know. You do that to me. You always have.” “Good.” He liked that he pleasured her. “You do the same to me.”

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“Hmmm.” She arched her mons against his palm, purring like a cat as he stroked her nubbin. “The way you touch me. It’s magic. I’ve never had it like this with anyone else.” “I’m glad you approve.” His voice thickened with want. He’d only put his leggings on when he called Alaric. Now he stood and struggled to remove them with his free hand. “Here, let me do that.” Rolling to her side, she grasped the waist and slid her hand down the back and squeezed a rear cheek. “You are one fine-looking man, Rurik the Conqueror.” He leaned into her, taking her lips with his. “So do you believe I am no dream, woman?” His woman squished the features of her face together. “First, let’s get something straight. My name is Trista. Trista Sorenson Jamison. You can call me Trista. I’d prefer it. Something about calling me ‘woman’ just sounds too caveman. Second, I’m fifty years old and in the throes of menopause, so if you are a dream, I hope I don’t wake up anytime soon. I’ve decided I’m having too much fun with this. Maybe this change of life stuff isn’t as bad as I thought. At least while this part is going on.” “Trista.” When he poked his finger into her wet canal, her hips shot up and the small muscles of her walls tightened around his finger. “First,” he emphasized the word to make his point, “you are not in menopause and won’t be for a very long time. Second, I’ll call you whatever you want, although when a man refers to a female as ‘woman’ in our culture it’s generally because she’s known to him, and third, I’ll say again, this is no dream.” He pulsed his finger in and out of her, making sure he stroked the erotic zones within. “Not a dream? Fine, but you are going to have to prove that to me.” She closed her eyes and whimpered with pleasure. “This will be interesting.” She studied him with an impish grin. “I never knew I had such a vivid imagination.” Rurik closed his eyes. How was he going to make her believe this was real? Before he could think, she slid his pants down to his thighs and grabbed his buttocks, pulling his hips to her and putting her hot mouth on his dick. She sucked his entire member in. His legs trembled from the sudden assault. “By the ancestors.” Blood hammered into his penis. He was hard before, but now? Now he needed his release. “Trista, I must have you.” Her teeth teased the skin of his cock and her tongue flicked the underside as she grazed up to his tip. When she reached the softer head, she coaxed the flesh with a squeeze of her mouth, then she released him and lay back against the bed and stretched, purposefully pushing her breasts up while shooting him the most seductive look he’d ever seen from her dark hazel eyes. He shed the garment and knelt over her, capturing her legs between his knees. “Trista, you are mine now. Say it. Say you will never leave me.”

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A sober countenance replaced the playfulness in her eyes. “I won’t leave you, Rurik. Not if you treat me right.” She rubbed her leg against his throbbing sex. He didn’t know exactly what she meant but her words were enough for him. He kneed her legs open and plunged into her with abandon. Trista gasped as Rurik filled her, taking the full length of him inside, his girth fitting her like a well tailored glove. She savored the feel, the wholeness that his penetration gave her, both physically and emotionally. With him, she felt a completeness again that she hadn’t experienced in a long time. Why was it she could feel the things she craved with him, this fantasy of hers? She didn’t know and didn’t want to analyze her dreams. Rurik made her feel as if she was wanted and needed again—something she yearned for especially now with the kids grown and out of the house. He slowly stroked inside her with his cock, rousing her, causing her breath to catch in her throat. When his thrust ebbed again she exhaled, shuddering, the sound rich with mounting passion. She closed her eyes, her sexual fervor building as her climax neared. “Oh,” she gasped as Rurik rolled with her on his next thrust, his hands clenching her body to his as she landed on top of him. “Grind your hips into me. Stroke your clit against me as you squeeze and pump me.” His hoarse voice drove her libido to a higher plane. “I know you like it on top. I don’t want to come before you.” Good Lord. She did. His knowing her body so well rocketed her sex drive and teetered her on the edge of erotic bliss. She rolled her hips against him. When she pressed her palms against the sheets, he slid his hands under hers before she pushed her chest up and off him to angle her mound better against his crotch, tightening her vaginal walls against his hard, thick staff. Groaning, she moved on him. Her voice pitched higher, louder. A surge of intense carnal pleasure flew through her. She cried out, her voice ragged and loud as her release exploded. She savored her coming as she gripped her walls taut against him. He grasped her to him once more and rolled her onto her back, pounding into her, his roughened breathing titillating her neck. It was a sin this wasn’t real. Rurik roared again when his climax exploded within her. He lay against her, his sweat, brought on by passion, intermingling with hers, his scent clean and musky. She breathed deep, never realizing how sexy this man smelled, and nipped his neck, licking the salty sweetness. “Rurik, why can’t you actually be here?” She felt a tear form in her eyes. He pulled his head away to peer at her. “I am. And I will prove it to you.” The tenderness in his voice enticed her, made her want to believe. “How?”

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His brows knitted again. She knew he was trying to reach her in some way. “Perhaps this will help.” He slid off her and sat on the edge of the bed then held her hands up in front of her face. “Look at them. Do they look the same?” She studied the backs then turned them over to look at her palms. “I don’t have the scars I used to, the ones I had after I broke my wrist.” She flipped her hands over and studied the backs again. “And I can actually see the detail without glasses.” She looked over her arm then, propping up on her elbows, looked down at her abdomen. “Wow. I can see every little detail of my body without glasses. What happened to my stretch marks?” She fingered her stomach. She more or less talked to herself. This wasn’t reality but this dream had grown so vivid. If only… She snapped her head up and stared into Rurik’s eyes, studying them, trying to make something of the flecks of blue and green within them, the concern that seemed to stare back at her from the small crinkles around the edges. He lifted her hand and kissed the back of her fingers. “I told you that you have had a full-body restoration. Everything came back the way it should have been. Everything.” A small light dawned on her. Sitting up, she reached between her legs, wondering if the blood from her virginity was still present. Rurik smirked. “I cleaned you while you slept. Before the healer came to check you over. I have the evidence though. I can prove to anyone that I breeched you again.” “Again?” She generally wasn’t one to be easily scared but much of this had started to worry her. She’d never had a dream with this depth. Had she slept with this man before? If so, who was he and why was she including him in such a weird fantasy? If not, where was she and what drugs had they given her to create such hallucinations? He brushed her cheek with his fingertips. “I told you that you were my mate. Until now I couldn’t claim you. There are some on the council, the ruling body of the Svendians of which you are now a part, who even now object to this. However, given the circumstances, I’m assured that approval will come.” “What circumstances?” He furrowed his brow. “The attack. The laser fire that was meant for me. With my armor, the blast would have only knocked me down, but they hit you instead.” Now she remembered. “But this can’t be real.” Dimples formed in his cheeks. “Come, I will show you.” He stood and held out his hand, the light in the room highlighting his naked, muscular frame. Trista held her breath. Her breasts tingled seeing the large, muscular form of the naked man in front of her. If only this could be real. But she wasn’t about to lament the absence of her youth and her ability to seduce a sexy man. Even though this was only a figment of her imagination, she wanted to appreciate every moment. Playing along with her fantasy, she put her hand in his and

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slid off the bed. He walked with her to a wall near the console that he had used before and stood her in front of it. “Stay here. I want you to see yourself.” He turned to the blank screen and waved in front of it. “Image window on.” Suddenly the wall shimmered with a silvery hue. When the glistening stopped, she stared into a large, silvered mirror. She studied her reflection, or at least what looked something like her. A tall, lean woman with curves and obvious muscles from working out looked back at her. “This is me?” Rurik nodded. She giggled. What kind of painkillers had the medical personnel given her? These hallucinations had to be from that. After all, to conjure up her dream man with her new body and with such strength. She shrugged. “Well, I knew I had some muscles somewhere. And I’m so lean. My girlfriends would be jealous if they could see this.” She twirled around and looked over her shoulder at her usually large ass. “Holy cow! No cellulite. What a beautiful butt I have!” A smirk slanted across Rurik’s face. “I’ve always thought so. Although you could use a little more fat on you.” She frowned. “Forget it. This is my fantasy and I’m going to be lean, young and beautiful.” She spun back around and stared agape at the image of her. Never in her life had she looked so good. And what was more, the gray in her hair had disappeared. Well, at least at the roots. Yes, there were some white ones near the crown, but dark hair had grown in underneath it. And it was fuller than it had been in years. Weird. Her skin tingled for a moment with some foreboding. She stepped closer and ran her fingers across her face. “My skin…there aren’t any wrinkles.” Rurik came behind her and gazed at her form in the mirror. “You are again about thirty-three Earth years.” “But…” She slid her hands down her chest and grasped her full, perky breasts. “Hey, these are looking goooood.” He chuckled and put his arms around her. Pulling her into him, he hugged her and kissed her ear, whispering, “I told you that you were fully restored. That means to good health as well.” She opened her mouth to peer at her molars but she was too far away to get a good look. Instead, she glanced over her shoulder at him. “What about my teeth? I had some crowns. Are my real surfaces restored, too?” He nodded. She giggled. This whole dream experience was soooooo outlandish she simply couldn’t come to grips with it. Still—she hefted her breasts up with her hands again— she loved being in this body. She figured she’d take the experience—and whatever drug they’d used on her—for what it was worth.

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Her stomach growled. “Hey, can I get something to eat?” Rurik frowned. “My apologies, my lady.” He placed a soft peck on her neck. “I was told to feed you.” “And,” she turned in his embrace, snuggling her breasts against the smattering of blond hair on his powerfully built chest, “is there such a thing as a bathroom in this place?” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed the tip of his nose. He pressed his lips together and tried not to laugh. “In here.” He took her around the bend in the wall and into a smaller room. She noted a shower setup but no toilet. “But I have to pee.” He ushered her to the shower-like area. “Wave your hand over the console and tell the computer what you want to do. I have already programmed the controls in my quarters to take your commands.” “Really?” This was getting better and better. She waved her hand over the smaller screen in the shower. “Give me a toilet.” A small door opened near the floor away from the shower-like head, and some mechanics caused a metal bin to extend. She looked up at Rurik. “Are you going to watch?” Her question seemed to take him aback. “Uh, well, not if you’re uncomfortable with that. I will go order you some sustenance. What would you like?” She pursed her lips to think. “It’s breakfast, right? At least it should be. How about some scrambled eggs and toast?” He smirked this time with some knowing grin. “Yes, Beloved. However, when you are finished with your ablutions then I would like to join you. We can cleanse each other.” “Cleanse?” She glanced up at the strange, sunflower-shaped showerhead-thingy then shrugged. “Sounds yummy to me. Can we eat in the shower?” With the smirk plastered to his lips, he said, “I’ll see what I can do.” Then he turned and left. It didn’t take her long to figure things out. In moments, she’d taken care of herself then turned to the console again. “Shower on.” A cold spray from the showerhead hit her directly in the nipples. “Yikes,” she yelled and jumped out. Rurik rushed around the corner. When he saw she was okay he simply laughed. “I should have warned you to tell the computer what temperature you would like the bathing water. I keep it cold for myself.” He hefted his arms and leaned them against the doorjamb. “I need it when I’m thinking of you and can’t satisfy myself otherwise,” he said in a lower, heady voice. He thought about her? “Well, I know what you mean. I already told you about needing sex after dreaming about you.” She giggled. Usually she would worry about

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what she told a new lover but this was different. In her dreams she could do anything with impunity. He strode to her and took her in his arms, cradling her fully against his body, kissing her lips so sweetly and hot… His mouth devoured her. His tongue outlined her lips then plunged inside, engaging her tongue, sparring with her flesh then letting her penetrate his mouth until he overpowered her, wrestling her into sweet submission. He retreated again, barely pulling his mouth away, his heavy exhalations stroking her lips. “Woman,” he breathed, “people have called me the conqueror because I have never lost a battle since I became a commander, but you…” He captured her lips with his and tongued the outline of her lips again. “You have tamed me. I am your slave.” She gasped as his penis pulsed against her, hardening again. Circling her arms around his neck, she kissed him and muttered against his lips, “I know what you mean.” Helpless, she let a tear fall. “I so wish you were—” He put a finger to her lips. “Don’t say it. I promise you will come to believe in me soon.” A sad aura hovered over his face but he smiled in retaliation. “Come, let us cleanse ourselves.” He kissed her then asked, “How warm do you want your bath?” “Hot but not too hot. Any other heat we can provide for ourselves.” He chuckled. “As you wish.” He ordered the shower to get warmer. Stepping inside, he offered her his hand. Putting her palm in his, she moved inside where he positioned her in front of the stream then pulled her into him. The temperature was perfect and the warmth soothed her. “So that you know, this isn’t only a shower.” Gazing up at him, she nipped then tongued his chin. “Now why doesn’t that surprise me?” He captured her mouth again, kissing her deeply. His tongue imprisoned hers then his parted lips pulled away and touched hers gently. “If you have need, this mechanism can also pleasure you. You may require this when I am away.” Away? “Why would you be away?” Was he some nurse or, more likely a male orderly, trying to wake her? Rurik scowled. “I have my duties. For one, I need to find those who attacked us. I will not tolerate anyone harming you.” “Oh.” She wondered from where in her psyche such protective thoughts had come. “If you say so.” She made a mental note. The information would be another thing she’d have to analyze after this bout of extreme eroticism. However, needless to say, when this delusion ended, she wanted to figure out how to get several more of them. But enough of that. Her mind and body wanted satisfaction. Now. “So what kind of pleasures are you talking about?”

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A wicked grin spread over his face, deepening the dimples in his cheeks. “Let me show you.” He stepped out. “But…” she protested. “Don’t worry.” He ordered the computer to dry him. “I intend to watch.” On command, a warmer light shone from the ceiling and a temperate breeze circled the room. The change caused her breasts to tingle and peak and the thought of him watching her, well… “Oh yeah.” A balmy gust blew against her clit. The stimulation released a tremor under her skin. “This is kinky. At least, the kinkiest I’ve been in a long time.” A corner of his mouth lifted. “You haven’t seen anything yet. Computer. Body scan for ultimate stimulation—make it a slow build.” She didn’t know what he meant but she loved looking at him, the way he stood with his legs parted, his arms akimbo over his sculpted abs, his biceps bulging against his well-developed chest, and his ample phallus hanging loose against his balls. What a view. Before she could soak in any more, a red light beamed over her, the rays seeming to stroke her calves, moving slowly upward, across her glutes, over her back and caressing her hips. When she covered her breasts with her arms to protect herself from the odd sensation, the light even seemed to nudge them away and take a slow accounting of her bosom. Before she knew what happened, the ray encircled her nipples and, with sensually excruciating slowness, squeezed as other rays warmed a path up her shoulders to her neck then her earlobes, making her skin tingle with lustful anticipation. The beams moved over her, stimulating her flesh, spending more time on the sensitive spots they uncovered, the erogenous results stoking her already escalating need. Soon a blue light joined the red, the cooler sensation causing her erect nipples to peak even harder. The red light grew more intense and seemed to squeeze and pull on the hardened tips. The effect caused her to cream, and even though the shower ran against her, she could feel the juices from her muff drip onto her inner thigh. Breathless, she glanced at Rurik. His eyes had darkened with desire. His hand cupped his testes and slid up his hardening penis, stroking, pulling extra long on the purpled head. She groaned and felt her legs quiver as the red light spread, the ray joining in the middle of her chest then breaking off and progressing lower. Another scarlet ray shone against her thighs, parting her legs and pulsing its way up her inner thighs. Torturously, the ray magnified as it neared her cleft, widening and spreading against her to cover her from the top of her pussy to her anus, throbbing against both, slowly, rhythmically at first, causing her skin to tingle with carnal need. Escalating harder, the pulses penetrated her. The first assault barely entered her anus, enough to send her soaring but not enough to be uncomfortable, making her rim prickle with erotic sensation, the ray spreading to her glutes and pressing against her as if it squeezed her.

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It was the second light that had her trembling. As if surrounding its prey, the ray encircled then stimulated her outer labia, alternating between the cooler blue and the hotter red then penetrated her inner lips. She creamed hard, she could tell. Then the light thrust itself up her vagina and pulsed, filling her canal. Somehow she felt the sleek friction against the rigid beam. Her inner walls tingled as they spasmed against the resistance the light gave back. Omigod. The sensation rocked her so hard she felt her legs falter. As if on command, the light buoyed her backside up and the one inside her pulsed harder, stroking, undulating—finding every erogenous zone, some she never knew she possessed. When the water throbbed against her, the light pulled harder on her nipples and the intensity of the ray’s movement within her escalated. She closed her eyes, savoring the onslaught, the tide of her pleasure rolling to its apex. A deep groan came from Rurik. The guttural sound roused her sexual desire to another, higher level. In moments he was against her, holding her ass up with his arms as she folded her legs around him. Cushioning her back with his hands, he jammed her against the wall and hammered his steel-hard cock into her pussy, taking the brunt of the pressure on his hands. The sensation. The feel. She never, ever experienced this much intensity. And it wasn’t just the physical. Somehow, she knew, Rurik needed her too. A few thrusts from him and her over-stimulated sex rode higher. His cock plunged the depth of her, filling her. In moments, she reached her peak, her orgasm a result of each nerve ending exploding underneath his touch. She screamed from the culmination of her driving lust, a sensation too much for her to keep tucked away inside. Seconds later, Rurik bellowed as well, his ejaculation seeping from inside her. The revelation that she was an intensely sexual being suddenly unnerved her. Why had she never experienced such lust-filled hunger before? She looked into Rurik’s face, wondering if he somehow felt the same, but how could he? He only existed in her mind. Yet the passion in his gaze belied that fact. His blue-green eyes studied her as if wondering if she felt as he did. He bent to kiss her. His labored breathing intermingled with her own. She clutched his shoulders, hoping that in the far reaches of her mind, he would never leave her, that she would never forget. His lips caressed hers, his hot mouth melded against her as if the two were one. Her foundations trembled. Even the room seemed to shake. Rurik grasped her against his body as his head snapped up. “The ship.” “Yeah.” She slid her legs down his body to stand on tiptoe against him and kissed the line of his strong jaw, thinking his body vibrated with passion as well. “You rock my world, too.”

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He stared down at her, a sudden seriousness in his look. The walls shook again, harder this time. “Commander,” the strained voice rebounded through the room. “On my way,” he answered then turned to her. “Stay here,” he ordered. “Get in the bed and have the computer strap you in. This might be a bumpy ride.” “What?” He held her away from him. She hated the coolness the absence of his body brought. “Do it. Do not argue with me. I will be back to get you should the need arise.” She ran after him as he marched out and into the bedroom, but before she could reach him, another door opened and he left—buck naked for the world to see. She ran a hand through her hair and swallowed. “I finally lost him.” A loud blast seemed to hit the shell of whatever building she was in and the walls trembled. Hell, she lived in Oregon. Had an earthquake hit? It must be. What else could cause such an impact? She heard others running down the corridor. She’d be damned if she was going to stay in the building and get crushed. Grabbing a sheet off the bed, she wrapped the fabric around herself and pounded on the portal Rurik had gone through. Nothing. The blasted thing didn’t budge an inch. And it had no door handles, no window. This must be an insane asylum. She hammered the metal door with her fist. “Get me out of here. Open this door.” Like clockwork, the door slid open. Weird. She poked her head out and peered down the hallway. Someone ran through another door at the end, someone wearing a uniform similar to what Rurik’s had been. That’s it, she thought. Rurik must work here. Was the man an orderly? Had he seduced her after drugging the hell out of her? If so, maybe she should ask him to do it again. She sputtered with the absurd thought. What had made her think that? “Shit, Trista, when have you ever been screwed so well? Get over it.” The building rocked again, this time with such power that she would have fallen flat on her butt if she hadn’t grabbed the doorjamb. Urgency forced her to flee. Not knowing where to go, she ran in the direction of the last person she had seen and faced another metal door. “Grrr.” She slapped the surface and immediately regretted it. Her skin stung. Think. You’re smart. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she straightened then spoke at the door. “Open.” The metal door flew into the wall. She stepped inside a small room with no other entrance. There were no buttons but could it be an elevator? Had to be. Still, with no buttons, how did she know where to go? “Destination?” A female voice asked the question. Hell if she knew. She said the first thing that came to mind. “Take me to Rurik the Conqueror.” She thought she heard the computer purr. “As you command.” 32

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The sudden jolt of speed that carried her surprised Trista and she wondered at the high-tech equipment in the facility where she had been committed. She’d never heard of a place like this. Another blast. This time louder. “What’s going on?” She’d muttered the question to herself. The computer’s snide voice responded. “We’re under attack, oh mated one. And the Vulgarians don’t play nice.” The elevator lurched to a stop. Another explosion rocketed the building as the door flew open. The resulting jolt hurled her through the portal. She landed flat on her face, the ends of the sheet flying from her hands, the fabric skimming down her shoulders and landing on her back. Sounds of measured urgency floated around her although she couldn’t make out the volley of words being used. Groaning, she rubbed the pain in the side of her face where she had slammed into the hard floor. Lifting herself onto her elbows, she swept the hair from her eyes and glanced up. All chaos halted for a split second. A bevy of men the size of Rurik stared back at her, some seated in front of consoles, some standing, most with a salacious smirk on their faces. On the far side near a console stood a fit, attractive woman. A sneer of contempt marred her delicate features. Beyond her, the screen reflected a picture of deep space with two huge spaceships in the distance, battling each other. Trista shook her head. The entire scene looked like something out of a B-grade sci-fi movie. She heard Rurik bellow an order from the middle of the room but the man to whom the directive was aimed simply huffed and pointed to Trista. “Aye, Commander, but perhaps you ought to get nonessential personnel in their right berth first.” He pointed to Trista. From the center of the room, a large chair swiveled around. His mouth gaping, a fully-clothed Rurik stared at her in horror. “Woman.” “Oh fuck,” she whispered. Her throat went dry. “You can say that again, honey,” the computer responded cheekily and somehow jerked her feet out of the doorway. “By the way—this is the bridge.” Then the computer-bitch slammed the portal shut.

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Chapter Four Rurik rushed to her. “Are you all right?” She swallowed. “Yes.” He grasped under her arms and lifted her. She barely had time to secure the loose ends of the sheet to cover her breasts before he yanked her up. “Cedric, secure her in my quarters.” The young blond Viking look-alike she’d seen before gripped her elbow. “Aye, Commander.” Before Rurik released her, he whispered in her ear, “I’ll discuss this with you later.” “But…” Rurik swerved and walked off, shooting an order to one of his men before she could finish. Cedric pulled her away and whisked her to the elevator again. The door flew open and Cedric ushered her inside. The door closed behind them. “Commander’s quarters.” “Now why didn’t it do that for me?” She had spoken aloud to herself but her new fantasy friend gave her the courtesy of responding. “The transporter?” She eyed the younger man. “Is that what you call this?” “Yes.” She frowned, confused by the twists her mind played on her. Somehow she had to figure this out, but how? So far going to sleep and waking up hadn’t changed a thing. Questions. That was it. She’d take the opportunity to question this man before her other, more amorous apparition showed up—again. When Cedric escorted her into the elevator she’d noted that all the men wore a similar design of clothes. The one woman she saw did as well. She gazed over Cedric’s well-tailored attire. An emblem of a planet and two stars decorated the left front of the long-sleeved azure top while a circular pin adorned the right. A vee opening in the front showed enough of his sinewy chest to stir any red-blooded woman. His slacks were black and fit like a glove. His boots hugged his calves. They looked like they were made of soft suede and matched the color of the pants. “Tell me that isn’t a uniform.” He pressed his lips together, she figured to keep from laughing. “Okay, I won’t.” She sighed and covered her face with her hands, a small headache springing up behind her eyeballs. “When is this dream going to end?” She’d mumbled the words but looked up at him. “Or is this an insane asylum? It is, isn’t it? You’re all orderlies, aren’t you?”

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“Not really.” Cedric chuckled this time, until another boom shook the…whatever kind of structure she was in. A large tremor caused her to lose her balance. She fell forward. Cedric caught her before she hit the floor again, pulling her into him and holding her. “You haven’t gotten your space legs yet. Can’t have you hurting yourself. Rurik would never forgive me.” “Space legs?” She looked up at the younger man from the middle of his chest. The pain in her head got stronger. “This is really a ship?” Cedric nodded. “And Rurik’s your commander?” The man nodded again. She squinted and stared into his face, ready to gauge his response to her next inquiry. “And this is really real?” She tentatively poked the fabric of his chest with the tips of her fingers. Sure as Hades, he felt real. Cedric nodded once more, a smirk similar to Rurik’s plastered on his face. “Alaric said you might have some trouble accepting the reality of your new environment. He thinks Rurik moved too fast with you.” “Alaric?” He nodded. “The healer.” The pain in her head throbbed. Tiredness overtook her, that and lack of food. “But this can’t be real. I have things to do with my life. And my children. They need me.” This dream was beginning to be more like a nightmare. “How old are your offspring?” She stared into his youthful face. His deep-sea blues gazed back at her. “Hunter is thirty-two. He’s in Iraq right now.” “Military?” She nodded. “Army.” Cedric smiled. “A warrior then.” “Yeah.” She quirked her lips, wondering why the man was so pleased. “And your other?” “My daughter Mercedes is twenty-six. She’s in graduate school. Studying oceanography.” Trista glanced up at him. “She would like you, I think.” A low rumble of laugher erupted from him. “If she smells like you I’m sure I would like her as well.” “Smells like me?” Trista wondered what that had to do with it. He smiled. “Svendians have a great sense of smell. You smell good and your personal scent is strong. I can understand why Rurik wants you.” “Oh.” Her voice sounded small. “I see.” The string of events, Rurik’s fucking, Cedric’s words—all were too much for her to take. Sudden exhaustion eked through every one of her muscles. None of this could be real and yet… 35

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She leaned against Cedric and rested her head on his chest. If she fell asleep again, would this be over? “I’m so tired.” She closed her eyes and remembered how hungry she had been before the earthquake. “Rurik was going to get me something to eat. I think…” They were the last words she remembered before she blacked out.

***** Rurik stared at his woman as she slept. Cedric had wisely taken her to sickbay and he’d told Rurik that the healer expected her to sleep for a while. Alaric ensured the fact by administering a sleeping ray to her so that she could recover in her weakened state. “I thought I told you to feed her.” Alaric strolled into the room, glaring. Rurik scowled. “I was getting her something when we were attacked.” “Humph. The attack didn’t happen until well after I was gone. She was stirring when I left.” “We got sidetracked.” “Sidetracked?” Alaric arched a black brow. “Is that what you call it?” Rurik grimaced. “Fine. We fucked first but I had ordered her a meal. The repast was sitting on the counter when I rushed out.” With a roguish and knowing glance, Alaric maneuvered a seat across from him on the other side of the bed and looked down on Trista. “I can’t blame you. Her sexual responses are very powerful. I could tell that when I restored her. And they peak when around you.” He looked at Rurik. “But if you don’t take care of her and get officially bonded with her soon, there are others who would gladly take your place.” “You wouldn’t happen to be one of them, would you?” The thought pissed Rurik off. Alaric huffed. “I wouldn’t mind coupling with her. She’s a vibrant female. But she’s your woman. I’d never cross you in this.” “Then who?” Alaric laughed. “So far, every unbonded male who has seen her. I can tell you, if Cedric didn’t respect you as much as he does, you would have a fight on your hands. He likes her.” “My cousin’s son?” Alaric nodded, obviously pleased that he’d taken Rurik off guard with the comment. With a chuckle, the healer reached down to check the instrument panel in the bed. “Other than a strong urge to mate with her, are you sure you don’t feel anything for this woman?” “Be clear, Alaric. I hate it when you speak of a subject for which you have already formed an answer.” Alaric let out a hearty laugh this time.

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Rurik shot him a look that would quell most men. Alaric knew him too well. His friend held his side in pain because he couldn’t stop snickering. “You laugh like an old woman,” Rurik chided. “Rurik,” Alaric chortled once more before he caught his breath, “you’ve been bedding this woman a long time. You’ve even been known to watch her for days without contact. I’ve seen you myself.” Rurik scowled. “I only watched her to see her interact with that man she took up with. You don’t know how hard that was on me, to see her with another, yet I couldn’t prevent it. Not when things were so uncertain in our world. Besides, she had no knowledge of my existence. I’m glad the bastard finally saw clear to leave.” Alaric huffed. “With some urging from an outside source I understand.” Rurik remembered. He had approached the man some time before. He’d grown tired of seeing his woman downtrodden from the emotional abuse, much less ridden by the beast. “It needed to be done. The man wasn’t true to her. When he didn’t care for her needs…” He shook his head. “I couldn’t accept the way he treated her.” “Then why didn’t you take her away then?” Rurik pondered that himself. Technically, he could have. By her scent, he knew she was his mate. He could have made the argument that nature had put them together. He could have kept her as a lover until he’d convinced the council. He shook his head. “I didn’t know if I could ever get the council’s approval. I didn’t think it fair to her to make her wait. Besides, she has a right to a peaceful life. We were at war. Her life would have been at risk. It’s only now that we have an uneasy truce.” He shrugged. “I didn’t want to leave her but it wasn’t right to interfere with her life and have her safety threatened. The attack that harmed her changed things. I needed to save her. Besides,” he stroked her face with the back of his fingers, “we have lost too many. We need to repopulate, and with our people’s limited ability to procreate we need to reach out to others. In her, the blood of our ancients flows. We are a related people to those on Earth. I think my father would have approved.” Rurik thought of the unwarranted attack on Ulrich the Bold by the Vulgarians. Bad enough they killed but during the attack they used an illegal weapon. The result tortured Ulrich and his crew without mercy. Reaching over Trista’s sleeping body, Alaric placed a hand on Rurik’s shoulder. “Your father wanted peace, Rurik. Your successes pushed the Vulgarians to achieve a peace deal. And those who were involved with your father’s death were punished at your hands.” “Not all of them.” Rurik growled. “There is Drakkar. And a few more who could not be identified.” “Rurik, Drakkar was not involved in the attack. The inquest by the Galactic Quorum that you asked for proved this.” “So you say but I don’t believe it. He’s a wily one. My uncle is convinced the massacre was by Drakkar’s command.” 37

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Alaric sighed and glanced at Trista. “You haven’t answered my question. Do you have feelings for this woman?” Rurik arched a brow. “Such as?” He wanted to drop the subject but knew his friend would not let the question go unanswered. Rurik stole every moment he could to delay his response. Alaric huffed. “Don’t be evasive with me. You know what I’m asking. Are you in love with this Earth woman who calls herself Trista?” Rurik paused and studied his sleeping mate, wondering how to answer his friend. Rurik had been a warrior all his life, lived and worked in the harshest of worlds, ones that fine-tuned his skill in battle. What did he know about love? “Of course I have feelings for her. She’s my mate. But love? I don’t know what love for another sex partner is. Besides, we hardly know each other.” “You know each other well enough. Bondings have been made on much less.” “This world is not like my parents’ or yours. Love is a luxury few of us can afford. It’s enough that I lust for her and her for me. I must take her. Fertile women are too hard to come by.” “As well as fertile men.” “Which begs the question, why you have not found a mate, my friend?” “Me?” The question threw Alaric off kilter, Rurik could tell. A rare event. Which made him think, what had Alaric been up to? For some time now, Alaric had kept his secrets. That fact, up to this point, had not bothered Rurik, but with the issue of his mate nearly settled he wondered what political intrigue Alaric had immersed himself in. At one time, they were closer than brothers. Nothing, not a woman or a secret, would have gotten between them. Now? The healer sputtered. “I will bond when I find the right woman. Unlike you, I believe in love.” Rurik chuckled. “We shall see about that. You have a responsibility as well as I to repopulate our world. You know this.” Alaric’s lips thinned. “You do not have to remind me. Your mother does enough of that quite frequently.” Rurik laughed. “Well, ever since you lost your parents, she’s taken you on as her own.” Alaric glared at him. “I do not need her as a mother. I am a grown, fertile man.” “With responsibilities,” Rurik reminded him, pleased with the opportunity to rib his friend back. Pausing, he studied Alaric, wondering how he would take his next question. “Would you mind being my second?” Alaric straightened so fast his entire body snapped. “In the bonding ceremony?” Rurik nodded. “You know I need four other men. If something happens to me, I want to make sure she has someone who will care properly for her. As my second, you 38

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would be her next mate unless she is too old at the time or you have bonded with someone else.” Alaric grumbled. “Nothing is going to happen to you. You’re too damn hardheaded.” Rurik studied him. “I pray not but one never knows. I want to be prepared and I want good men. You are the best man I know.” Alaric grimaced then stared at Trista for several moments. Taking a deep breath, he finally looked at Rurik. “I’ll do it. For you. Besides,” a sad grin swept his chiseled face, “it doesn’t look like I’ll be bonded anytime soon.” Rurik knew what he meant. Alaric had lost the one woman he’d desired to a renegade’s attack. Leaning forward, Rurik rested his elbows on his knees and folded his hands in front of him. “One down then. I need three more. Men I can trust.” “What about Cedric?” “He’s young.” “He’s fertile—as fertile as you, maybe more. He’d be honored.” Rurik knew there was no one, except perhaps Alaric, who was more loyal. Cedric was a good man. Rurik nodded. “Cedric then. I’ll ask him myself. I would appreciate your help deciding on the last two.” “I’ll think on it.” Alaric nodded. “Keep in mind you could have someone stand in for an unnamed fourth.” Alaric shrugged. “We could get your sister to do it.” “Jinn? She’s a warrior woman. She hates the idea of the bonding ceremony. It’s probably good that she can’t breed. Ever since she hit puberty, she’s rejected the life of a mate. Not that she doesn’t have an insatiable appetite.” Rurik huffed and scratched his balls, remembering the last brawl he broke up over her. The damage to his scrotum almost put him in sick bay. Alaric smiled back. “She does seem to keep many of the men vying over her attentions.” “Yeah.” Rurik huffed with disgust. “If she wasn’t such a cunning tracker, I’d have sent her home. Shatz, I can’t have the men fighting each other because she can’t be more discreet with her liaisons. I hated threatening her and restricting her sexual activities but we would have had a literal civil war otherwise.” Alaric snorted. “No, a clitoral civil war. Get it? Literal, clitoral…” Rurik glared again. His friend sighed. “Okay, never mind. I’m only glad you got things straightened out. I got sick of seeing Olav and Thordis every other day. Besides, with her sterility, her lack of sex with a corporeal man is not important. She can get what she needs from the computer.” Alaric raised his brows. “You didn’t happen to let Trista know this, did you?” “That she could conjure up a reasonably solid image of a fully sexually functioning man from the computer? Hell, no.” 39

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“Why not?” Rurik growled. “Because, dammit, I don’t want her thinking about another man. I’ve had enough of sharing her with someone else as it is.” “Mmmm.” Alaric struggled not to laugh. “Cursing over small matters, are we? Not an accepted practice by you or your family. Which leads me to believe…” “I’ll go talk to Cedric now.” Rurik stood, purposefully cutting Alaric off. He didn’t need any more lecturing on what his feelings were or even what they might be. And whatever he felt, he wanted to figure that out for himself. Biting off his grin, his friend nodded. “Good, because you need to get the men lined up. Rumor has it that the council’s approval will be forthcoming.” Rurik shook his head. “I’d like to know how you get this information.” Alaric’s lips thinned. “I told you not to ask. Trust me, okay?” Rurik nodded. Alaric’s inside source had kept Rurik out of serious political screwups so far. He stared at Trista’s sleeping form. “If she’s all right, then, I’ll take my leave and approach Cedric. These attacks are getting way too frequent. If something isn’t done soon, I’m afraid we’ll be in an all-out war with the Vulgarians again. I don’t know what the other tech-advanced societies will think about that, especially after the Galactic Quorum took such pains to broker the peace.” “I agree.” Alaric nodded then glanced at Trista. “Don’t worry. She’ll be fine.” The healer shot him a mocking glance. “I’ll feed her when she wakes. Do you have something for her to wear? Besides the bed covering, I mean.” Rurik wanted to punch his good friend in his sarcastic mouth. “I’ll log the attire on the computer.” Reaching over, he brushed Trista’s hair from her face, his concerns surfacing. “Do you think she’ll ever accept her new station?” Alaric snorted. “She’ll have every fertile woman in the advanced societies envying her. Why wouldn’t she?” Rurik scowled. “She has things she’s left. Her children for one. She spoke of them.” Alaric paused and studied Trista again then looked back at Rurik. “Have you ever thought that maybe you were the father of her offspring?” He eyed his friend cautiously. “Why would I think that? She’s my woman. As such, I took every precaution to protect her.” He swallowed as he caressed her cheek, hoping to calm the sense of unease he’d felt every time he’d left her. “She’s an Earther, a protected people. I hadn’t the council’s approval to mate with her much less bring her with me, and with the war, I would be far away. I couldn’t allow her to get pregnant. Like I told you, I was too worried about her safety much less any offspring I’d sire.” “And yet she remembered you. Technology isn’t perfect, you know. And if you had already impregnated her, the laser application would not have halted the developing fetus. In fact, the preventatives might have stopped working altogether. With our laws, the biotechnology is set up to protect a fetus. That could explain why she remembered you, why the memory replacement didn’t work.”

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Rurik straightened. “What are you saying?” Alaric shrugged. “Although they are grown, perhaps you should find these children. You never know. You could already be a sire. Besides, it seems her children are the one thing that will keep her from you. From what Cedric said, they appear unattached. The son is even a warrior, although by crude means. And if her daughter is also fertile, perhaps she could be added to our clan.” Elated with the thought, Rurik nodded, willing to take the risk. Bending over, he placed a kiss against her warm lips, praying she would soon accept him fully and the reality of her situation.

***** Jinn scanned the room once more. Someone had already been there. The question was, who? She walked to the shelf over the fireplace, ruminating over the crude heating methods the Earth people used. Lifting a frame, she stared at the picture within. An older woman with dark hair and striking green eyes stared back. “This must be my brother’s woman,” she mumbled. At the woman’s side stood a taller blonde girl, a teenager by the look of her, and on the other side an even taller, broadly built, lighthaired man. The man was younger than Rurik’s mate so this couldn’t have been the male her brother said she had taken up with. And his smile… “By the ancestors…” Her jaw dropped. She had focused so much on the woman’s image she hadn’t noticed at first. The smile on the boy’s face looked exactly like Rurik’s. Yet Rurik had told her he did not have spawn from her. Did her brother not know? Or did the commander not trust her with the information? She stared at the picture again and ran her thumb over the image of the man’s face. Did she have a nephew? Jinn scowled. If she did, she’d use the information to get back her rights as a warrior. With this information, she could either please or torture her brother. Then maybe he would lift the sanctions on her—especially the ones that restricted her sexual activities. “Bastard.” He had had no right to limit her warrior benefits, especially the carnal ones. Every good combatant needed some release. And she was one of the best. Hell, he’d even threatened to send her home. Her lips thinned in frustration. She was as good in a battle as any of them, and she had as much of a right and duty to avenge her father as Rurik did. The sanctions he imposed on her were such a crock of shatz. Stay away from the male of the species? Hell. She liked her men. Sneering, she studied the picture. “Well, this should at least prove interesting. If anything, I’ll get some needed entertainment.” She ground her teeth and broke the glass on a corner of the wooden shelf. Shaking out the shards, she pocketed the images and stepped out the back door to meld into the sylvan landscape.

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Using his telescopic visor, Drakkar watched the warrior woman walk onto the front porch and into the sunlight. Rurik’s sister. His sworn enemy’s blood. Sneering, he congratulated himself again for activating the crude warning systems he used on this planet. His exit had been well timed. She entered only moments after he bolted out the back door. Good thing because he was not ready to challenge Rurik’s guard, not yet. Crossing his arms, Drakkar leaned against a large ancient pine to study the lone soldier. Even at this distance he could smell her feminine scent, the musky odor mingling with the crispness of the woods. She pressed her earlobe. She must keep her comm unit there. He knew she contacted her ship but from this distance he couldn’t hear what she said, not without using a listening device that would alert her to his presence, which was why he never used the technology of the advanced races in this situation. He would be discovered by those he most wanted to avoid. Resting against the bark, he studied her form, the soft inner curve of her waist, the swell of her hips, the cleavage of her breasts. “Nice.” He let his mind wander to what he’d like to do with the female under other circumstances. Lately, he’d been too busy to join up with any woman for his release, and the neoskinned robots the computer generated didn’t give him the satisfaction of the real thing. Besides, something about this primitive forest stimulated his baser urges. Earth’s surface always did. Maybe because, even with their rampant pollution, the planet continued to teem with the kind of life only dreamed about in the rest of the galaxy. He snorted, thinking how he’d like to toss the girl into a bough of pine needles and have his way with her. It was only the two of them. She had been alone. Being in neutral territory, she probably felt as safe as he had. And she would have been wrong had he been willing to break the truce, except he wasn’t ready to move on Rurik, not yet. A breeze caressed his face, the musky scent of her cunt reached his nostrils. Carefully, he eased closer, using the stand of trees to cover him, curious about the female. Hiding behind a thick tree trunk, he watched her. He had never been this close to Rurik’s sister. Truth be told, he was not that close to her now. But the Vulgarian sense of smell was a strong one. Just like the Svendians. After all, both their people shared the same ancestors. Thankfully, he stood downwind, although a slight crossbreeze blew. The pungent scent thickened. The blood in his penis throbbed. His mind wandered, made him think of sex. He wondered if she would recognize him. He’d shaved off his beard since the truce was signed, mostly because he wanted the change. He wasn’t one to be rash but in this case… Her hand slipped downward. Her fingers skated across her chest, encircled her breast and squeezed. Thunderstruck, he cursed under his breath and stayed hidden, mesmerized by the scene. 42

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After glancing around, she tossed her blonde ponytail behind her. Pulling up her blouse, she fingered her nipples. “Hell.” Blood surged into his penis. Did the woods have a wanton effect on her as well? Looking up, she studied the sky, then in a nanobyte of time, her blouse came off, revealing her small but perky tits. Her nipples swelled, emphasizing the gooseflesh of the deep rose areolas that surrounded them. She grasped the tips and rolled them between her fingers. Her eyes closed. Her mouth parted. He could tell her breaths grew labored. “By the ancestors.” He grabbed his cock. Slipping her slacks to her knees, she plopped into a chair on the deck. As one hand continued to tug on her breast tip, the other reached for her sex. Her legs parted. He could see her woman’s genitalia through the visor, the little fleshy nub of her clit. A bit of her liquid essence seeped from her. He could smell it. As she pulled on the hood to her sex, she slumped in the chair. Her back arched and her head pressed into the plastic rungs of the seat. “Shatz,” he grumbled, and popped out his throbbing cock to stroke himself. She whimpered. Sitting straighter, she leaned her head forward to pull a breast toward her mouth. Not able to fully reach, her pink tongue darted out to fill the distance and lick the sweet, pointed nub. One. Two. Three laps with that wet tongue. She growled with frustration. Drakkar bit his lip to keep from snickering. He knew what she needed. Hell, he wanted to give it to her, fuck her deep and hard, but he couldn’t afford to be found. Besides, he liked watching her. He didn’t want her to stop. “Damn.” He heard her delicate voice curse. Sitting on the edge of the seat, the woman spread her legs and writhed against her palm. One hand rubbed the apex of the clit that peered from behind her short, trimmed pubic hair, the other tugged on the nipple again. Keep me sane. Drakkar’s dick thrummed with the pain of unfilled joining, his need to fuck escalating. He beat his hand faster. Her labia swelled. The hand at her breast left to join the other at her sex and parted the blood-filled lips. Grinding her hips, she slipped one finger inside. Drakkar felt pre-cum on his hand. Moaning with pleasure, she slipped another digit in, pumping herself, rubbing the length of her fingers against those soft, sweet folds Drakkar knew she must have. Allowing himself a low rumble, he came, his sperm spewing against the bark of the tree. He heard her cry aloud as her climax hit. “Crap.” Breathless himself, he dropped his forehead against the tree trunk, inhaling deeply to calm his rapid heart. Regaining some decorum, he eyed the wet tree. His cum 43

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had splattered all over it. Regrettable. The sperm could have been useful. After all, he was one of the most fertile men in the clan, but hell, he needed the release. Hearing her move, he looked up to keep an eye on her location. Her chest rose and fell in rapid succession, her naked breasts stood erect as if welcoming the sun. She closed her eyes. The unrequited need glowed in her face. He knew how she felt. He still wanted to fuck her. And fuck her well. He stilled, debating his choices, knowing the head on his dick warred with the head on his shoulders. He wanted to go and take her. She needed a good screw. So did he. She stirred. Sighing, he knew he had waited too long. Besides, the thought was insane. She was the sister of his enemy. After a few moments, the woman pulled herself together and redressed in her blouse. Growling like a she-bear, the woman loped through the moist-smelling thicket, making a loop closer to him then circling away. Whatever his dick had thought, the opportunity had passed. Drakkar sniffed the air, taking a long draught of her essence, rationalizing that he needed to smell her to ensure he knew where she went. The scent of both masturbations mixed and hung like a thick fog. Drakkar shifted his stance to adjust himself, his cock hardening once again. “Shatz.” He stuffed his hard-on in his pants. Then smelled another scent in the air, one that was pure woman in heat. Curious. Was the woman capable of breeding? No. How could she be? The Svendians would never risk a fertile woman in a fight. Especially Rurik the Destroyer. The man killed for pleasure and never took a prisoner. He knew. The small town of his youth had not been spared Rurik’s wrath. He lost many a friend to its flames. His senses alert, Drakkar watched the woman jog deeper into the old forest. Enemy or not, fertile or not, he liked the way her ass swayed as she darted between the trees. There was something primitive, even basic about it. Something guttural he couldn’t claim. Another breeze gusted his way. Then it hit him. Her perfume latched onto him, the scent so thick he couldn’t deny it. Hell. He reached down to pinch his dick, hoping he could halt the blood flow this time. Damn if she wasn’t fertile. He could tell. Mine. By the ancestors. The ancient urge to mate clenched onto him. Fuck. Not her, please not her. The demand grew stronger. He gripped the rough bark of the tree in front of him, steeling himself. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he worked to overcome the powerful instinct not to follow and claim her, one of the things through their shared heritage that

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his people and the Svendians both possessed—the knowledge through woman’s scent that she belonged to him. Couldn’t be. He wouldn’t let it. To mate with his enemy? Fuck her, yes, but to bond with a known Svendian killer? What would his people think? With focused intent, he inhaled deeply again to retain her fragrance. He prayed he would never face her again, but he might have need of the reminder of her scent one day. And in remembering, he could protect himself. He couldn’t let himself falter again. Exhaling a ragged breath, then another, he allowed his ardor to cool. What need did he have with a mate like that? The woman was known to be ruthless in battle. Forget her. There would be others. Had not the past of the ancestors proved this? Besides, he had someone else in mind, someone softer, someone who was less inured by the fighting of their world. Growling, he forced himself to focus and pulled out the small book from his vest pocket that he’d gotten from the Earther woman’s house. Opening the pages, Drakkar slid his fingertip down each sheet until he found the right series of script. Mercedes Elise Jamison. The girl’s address was penciled underneath her name. With smug satisfaction, he pocketed the item, glad he could retrieve the information before Rurik’s people found the girl. Drakkar already had his people undercover and involved with the children and he didn’t want Rurik to find them, not yet, not until Drakkar was ready. He fingered the paper. Getting this highly classified information had been a stroke of luck. They had intercepted a wayward transmission from a Svendian council ship. Both offspring were important to his design to upend Rurik’s unmitigated assaults, but the daughter was the critical one of the two. He needed her for this to work. Glancing up, Drakkar glared in the direction of the woman Jinn. The last of her dodged from sight. His eyes narrowed. Thank the ancestors any urge to go after her had been pounded down by his steel will—and the reminder that his ship had recently been attacked by a cloaked ship. In Earth’s neutral territory no less. There had been no cause for that. Still, if Drakkar was going to convince the Galactic Quorum that Rurik had never intended to live in peace, he needed proof. And that, Drakkar was finding hard to come by. Oh yes, Rurik was a clever one. The murderer covered his tracks but Drakkar’s sources had confirmed the Destroyer’s hand in this incident. Sneering, Drakkar remembered the brawny commander from the negotiations, so willing to find peace. Then this. The wily son of a bitch. His enemy had caught the Vulgarian troops off guard, but Drakkar and his men had reacted in time. They suffered minimal damage. He ground his teeth. He should have known better than to trust the Svendians, especially Rurik.

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No matter. He’d taken the time to set his traps. He only needed a few more pieces to fall in place. With the information he’d been given, he could be patient. Cold anger burned in Drakkar but, as with everything he did, he kept it under his command, unleashing it only when its use could make him win. And he had to win. There was too much at stake. No, if Rurik, the high-born bastard, wanted a fight, Drakkar would give him one. Turning, he signaled his ship, telling them to gather the landing crew that had spread out to cover this place. Now that the Destroyer had accepted this woman, all those related to her were fair game. His people needed fertile women to repopulate their numbers as much as the Svendians did. He had his mission—and the mission always came first. He would take the woman-child. Then the son.

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Chapter Five After being debriefed by Captain Tema Nasgorov, Rurik shut down the comm. Tema’s ship, the Destiny, circled Earth’s orbit looking for clues to the attack. Although Rurik didn’t tell her why, he had ordered Nasgorov to have the crew find Trista’s children. Could they be his? He didn’t know but he wanted to take a cautious hand. Apparently Jinn had finally reported in. His sister had taken her sweet time. He was afraid to ask what she’d done to extend such an easy mission. Somehow he could see her stalking Earth’s male population to ease her overactive libido and stirring up trouble amongst the local populace. He sighed, wondering how he could get her under control. He didn’t like to be at odds with his only sibling. Besides, between the attacks, the council and Trista, he had enough dilemmas on his hands. Rurik rubbed his forehead, ruminating over the captain’s report. So far, they’d found nothing of any worth. No clue that could pinpoint Drakkar’s troops’ involvement to the council—or even to the Galactic Quorum. Just some emission traces from a Vulgarian ship. The quest on Earth fared no better. None of the teams found anything specific, and after searching Trista’s home, Jinn still came up clean. Apparently his sister raved over the small home in the restive woods—a small cabin in the midst of an aged stand of trees. He knew what the dwelling looked like, where it was. It was beautiful. A place where Trista took refuge after her departure from the man she’d lived with for a few Earth years. Rurik inhaled a slow, deep breath, wishing the impossible. He would’ve liked to have spent a lot more time there with her. Just the two of them. He could have wooed her properly then. Brought her around more slowly so that she would have accepted him without issue. He could have screwed her in every room that the two of them could fit, at every angle he could manage. His dick jumped thinking about it. The comm beeped, interrupting his thoughts. A light flashed on his private audio line. He waved his hand over the console. “Rurik.” “Hello, Bro.” Rurik grimaced. He hated when his sister used Earther slang. It meant she wanted something. “What is it, Jinn?” “I need to talk to you. Bring me back to your ship.” He winced, knowing before he said the words that she wouldn’t take it well. “No.”

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“You have to.” “I don’t. And you have a mission to do.” She growled like a cat. “Rurik, I checked your woman’s place.” “She likes to be called Trista.” He smirked, remembering how his woman had lectured him. “Really? Good for her.” Rurik knew one of the biggest issues Jinn had with the clan was over the status of women, how they seemed to lose their identity when they bonded. Good thing the girl was sterile. She wouldn’t be able to handle the pressure. “Look, Bro, I need to talk to you. Privately.” “If this is about getting your full rights back, forget it. I don’t have time for your antics now. All I need is another fight on my hands at the wrong time.” “Grrr, it isn’t about that. It’s about what I found. Have you ever seen her children?” He paused, knowing he’d paid way too little attention to them. There was a war going on and he was there for one purpose. How could he know they might be his? Guilt nagged at him. Whether they were his or not, they were Trista’s. And whatever these strange urges were that he felt around her, he knew he cared enough about her to be concerned about any offspring she might have. “Rurik?” He huffed. “Only from a distance but they’ve never laid an eye on me. Why?” “Because, well…” Her voice trailed off. “Oh damn. Let me send you an image.” Her voice faded. He heard her order a scan from the computer. “Check this out.” An image of Trista and two others who stood alongside her popped up on the three-dimensional laser. “The other two are Trista’s offspring.” When Rurik peeled his eyes off his mate, he stared at the others. The girl-child had blonde hair and pale, greenish blue eyes. She stood a bit taller than Trista but her face was almost her mother’s, only a lighter version. She was beautiful. The male-child. Rurik inhaled sharply when he took a closer look at him. The boy had his face, almost an exact duplicate of him when he’d been a teen. “By the ancestors,” he muttered. “Yep.” Rurik cringed at the self-satisfied way Jinn stated that one word. “Now.” The joy in her voice made him want to puke. “About those restricted rights of mine.” “Find the children,” Rurik snarled. “When you do, we’ll talk.” He slapped the comm to turn it off. Tossing his head back, he stared at the ceiling. “Fuck.” The comm beeped again. With a jerk of his hand, he activated it. “Now what?” he barked. “Your woman should be awake soon,” Alaric mocked. “Having a bad day?” 48

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Rurik only rumbled his reply. “On my way.” Marching from his quarters, he wondered what else would go wrong.

***** Jinn hadn’t had the time to tell Rurik that someone had beaten her to his woman’s place but no matter. She shrugged, knowing that there was nothing to be done about it. Spouting a few fast orders to the computer, she leaned away from the console. For once she let the smug look of satisfaction show on her face. She’d won the first battle in the war to regain her rights. Stretching her arms over her head, she arched her back then put her hands behind her neck and pressed her elbows outward. The act caused her breasts to tip upward and her nipples to rub against the Maloran fabric of her uniform. “Mmmm.” Her nipples still tingled and her muff still thrummed from the stroking she’d given herself earlier. She didn’t mean for it to happen, masturbating like that right in the open, yet when she stood on the deck, the intense sexual force hit her from out of nowhere. The driving need to be fucked. She rubbed her nipple through the cloth then tugged on it. She loved Earth. The smells. The rawness. The wildness of the life. There was something about that which stimulated her. Jinn grimaced. On previous jaunts she could always control her ardor. This afternoon she’d lost herself in the warmth of the sun, the cool smell of the soil, the fresh scent of the leaves on the wind—the musky odor of some male in heat. It was the last that had hit her, obliterating her strict discipline and releasing her raging hormones. She almost went to look for him. Almost. Her mission kept her focused. If it hadn’t been for that, she would have found the man and fucked him good, and said to hell with the restrictions her brother had put on her. She needed sex. She grimaced, knowing she would never consciously out-and-out disobey an order. It wasn’t in her nature. Besides, she didn’t want Rurik sending her home. Blast, she wanted to get laid, needed the touch of a man against her. Thinking about it only made her wet. “Shatz.” She gritted her teeth. She had to keep things in perspective. Before her restrictions, her libido had always been well satisfied, which most certainly helped her level of control. Now she had to face facts. With Earth’s lust for life, the globe was the last place a breeding female should go when she hadn’t been satisfied, although at the moment, she didn’t have much choice. Hell. She remembered the Earth man’s scent. Even now, it stirred her. “God’s teeth, I must be needier than I thought.” She squeezed her legs together and rubbed her clit against the firmer fabric of her pants. Lifting her blouse, she tugged her nipple harder. Her breaths came faster. Wetness gathered in her crotch. Reaching into her pants, she stroked herself, trying to think, needing to protect her fertility from discovery. She had

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to be careful. No one knew she was a breeder. She didn’t want anyone to know. To live a life like that would be hell, especially after having grown used to the freedoms and benefits of a warrior. She slid a finger into her moist canal, pumped the digit with enough pressure to pleasure the sensual points inside. She groaned with her mini-release, wondering what the male who ignited such passion looked like. She could only imagine. Squeezing her inner muscles against the substitute rod, she slid her finger out, wishing it was the man’s penis she milked—and yet grateful it wasn’t. She didn’t really want to cause problems. And as fertile as most Earth males were, she didn’t want to be impregnated. Not yet. She wasn’t ready for that and wasn’t sure if she ever would be. She closed her eyes and exhaled, thankful for the primitive Earth methods she utilized that kept anyone from knowing she was fertile. Modern technology. Right. The tech-advanced races had nothing to trace the routine infusion she’d perfected for her body, one which she was due to take any day now. Satisfied with herself yet still needy, she sat up and straightened her clothes as she looked at a map of Earth on the screen. Oh yeah. She loved the planet and wanted to stay as much as possible. The water-filled globe was the one place she could be herself without worry, yet she grew concerned. If she didn’t get laid soon, one of the men might be able to detect her reproduction capabilities from her scent. That would be disastrous to her life plans. Course, she could start taking the infusion earlier, using a shorter time span, but that would use up her precious supply. The computer beeped, ending her reflection. If she was going to get anywhere with her bid to reinstate her sex benefits then she needed to find those kids. The screen flashed the information to her, highlighting the globe she’d been looking at, telling her the general location where the boy could be found. “He’s in a mountain desert?” She pulled the area up to get more detail. The peoples on Earth were battling again. She had been told the boy was a soldier. That fact, besides him being a grown man, would make his abduction more difficult. She studied the area in earnest. She didn’t like what she saw. The rocky expanse looked fairly remote yet anyone could be hiding in the crags—even the Vulgarians. “Great. And he’ll be in the midst of a fight, if he’s anything like his father. I hope we don’t get jumped before we can get him out.” She touched the console screen, sending a signal to the small crew she led then logged her excursion with the computer and proceeded to the dock for the teleporter. She rubbed the emblem of rank on her chest. At least she retained her crew leader status. And with that status came privileges—ones she wanted back.

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***** Trista’s eyes fluttered open. Lifting her head, she glanced around the room. “Oh, not again.” She lay in the medical room. She recognized the lit walls but at least this time she wasn’t in a tube. She slid her hand down her breast and touched some of the silkiest fabric ever. Hey! This time she had herself wearing clothes. “That’s got to be some kind of progress.” Maybe her consciousness had returned, or at least was coming back? Maybe this was a hospital room? Pulling herself up on her elbows, she looked down at her new attire. Then again, maybe not. The glittery, sheer turquoise cloth only posed as a drape over two ornate gold shields that covered her breasts. They were like two burnished sunbursts shooting out from her nipples, covering a large part of her mounds. Metallic-like but flexible, they gave her bosom some great support. She could tell. And without pinching. A real plus. “Hey, I kinda like these.” She sat up and hefted one globe in her hand then squeezed. “You can hardly feel them and yet my breasts feel so perky.” She glanced down at her trunk. “And look at the bottoms.” The fabric molded against her body. At the sides of her waist, the color grew more dense and opaque. The effect created a vee that exposed her navel and pointed downward toward her pussy. Then, at the point where the cloth met her hips, the material thickened enough that, even as close as she was, she couldn’t see through the skirt. She rubbed her legs together. “Oooh, and no underwear.” She was totally naked underneath yet the drape of the thicker cloth kept her private parts hidden. Knowing that made her clit tingle, made her think that the covering acted like a secret invitation for hot sex. The image of Rurik’s naked body popped into her mind. In an outfit like this, she couldn’t help but cream at the thought of him ravishing her at a moment’s notice. She swallowed and tried not to imagine the carnal act. Too distracting. Right now it was more important for her to get her head together. She looked at the rest of her, trying to focus on what she dreamed now. The denser fabric fell all the way to her ankles. “Wow, I look like a belly dancer.” She held up her arms and wiggled them snakelike. The gossamer fabric hugged her biceps but flared at the elbow. And the hems of both the sleeves and skirt were sewn with the same metallic material as her breasts. “Now all I need are those little cymbals and some jewelry.” A portal slid open and the doctor they called Alaric came in wearing the same strange uniform she’d seen him in before. He beamed when he looked at her. “How do you feel?” “Other than a small headache and some severe hallucinations, fine.” He pulled a seat up to the side of the odd bed she lay on. “You’re not having hallucinations.”

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She raised a brow, measuring her words and drawing out her response, to be sure she made herself clear—at least, to herself. “Riiiight. Which is why I’m currently hurtling through deep space in some strange time-continuum thingy talking to an alien.” He sputtered then pressed his lips together, the corners of his full mouth curling upward, highlighting his dimples. Trista got the distinct impression that he tried not to laugh but the attempt proved fruitless. He burst out in less than a second, his deep rich voice echoing against the walls. She crossed her arms. “Look, I know I must be in some home for the insane but are you real? I mean,” she hesitated then poked his chest a few times for good measure, “you are made of blood and bone and corpuscles and everything, aren’t you?” Somehow he was able to nod. Trista wasn’t sure how he managed the gesture since he was shaking so much with hilarity. “So maybe these weird visions are drug-induced? If that’s the case, then stop pumping me with whatever narcotic you have me on. I’d like to get my brain back. I’m really starting to miss it, you know. Although I must say, some of the side effects so far have been damn tasty.” She quivered with lust just thinking of Rurik penetrating her. Alaric laughed so hard he coughed. “Are you all right?” She slapped him a few times on his very firm, very fit back. He cleared his throat and pulled her arm away. “Yes, I’m fine. Now…” He held her hand between both of his and pointed the look in his baby blues straight into her pupils. “Trista, may I call you by that name?” “Of course. I mean, you are a doctor, and geez, I certainly wouldn’t want to be called Missus Jamison, you know. After all, I am divorced.” “Of course.” With a hint of the smile remaining, he released her and sat a little straighter. “You are not in a time continuum.” She hadn’t realized she’d held her breath. She hissed when she released it and closed her eyes as a wave of relief flooded over her. “Thank God. So these are simply drug-induced visions.” She lay back down and draped her arm over her forehead. “Good, then when the narcotics wear off, I’ll be back in Oregon—somewhere.” Lifting her arm, she looked at him. “What hospital am I in anyway?” Sighing, he took her hand again then held her fingers firmly between his palms. “You’re not in Oregon.” “I’m not? Wow. I was so bad they had to fly me to another state? Then where am I?” One of the portals slid open. Rurik the Conqueror stood in the frame. His body filled most of the doorway. “You’re on my ship, woman. The Punisher. You must come to accept this.” “Not again.” A warm light penetrated her and then wooziness overcame her. With that, her world went dark.

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“Damnation.” Alaric bolted up, sending the chair flying across the floor. “I told you not to shock her anymore. I was trying to bring her around slowly.” “I don’t have a choice. The council decision came in.” “And?” Alaric folded his arms together and stood toe-to-toe in front of him. Rurik scowled. “A ship is coming to deliver the news.” “They couldn’t just tell you?” “No.” Alaric ran a hand through his dark hair and paced. “Well, that doesn’t sound good.” He stopped and glared at Rurik. “That doesn’t excuse your actions. I programmed the laser to make her sleep when she got too upset or confused. Now she’s out again.” Rurik gritted his teeth. “Then wake her up. I’ve got to ask her how to contact the children. This could be important.” “I was going to do that until you barged in and acted like an ass.” “Fuck, Alaric, I don’t have time. I need to make her understand.” “Not like that, you aren’t. I don’t want any permanent emotional or mental scarring. And I swear,” he stepped in front of Rurik and shoved his pointed index finger at the underside of his chin, “if you don’t take better care of her, I will have her taken away from you. She doesn’t deserve this.” His best friend’s defense put Rurik on edge. “I’m trying to take care of her but I can’t do that if I can’t keep her. If whoever they’re sending with the news thinks she doesn’t understand what she’s committed to, you know they’ll stop this.” “You’re thinking with your dick,” Alaric growled. “Try using that strategic mind of yours instead.” Rurik inhaled to steady himself and gazed at Trista’s sleeping form. He couldn’t lose her, not again. Pressing his lips together, he studied Alaric. “What do you want me to do?” Alaric relaxed his aggressive stance. “Leave her alone. Right now you’re too homed in to her as a mate. You’re obsessed with the idea of coupling. You’re not thinking reasonably. I’ll wake her and talk to her.” Obsessed? With Trista so close, having her was all he could think about. He’d waited, been patient for too long. Damn right he was obsessed. Rurik took a deep breath and released it slowly. He didn’t want to leave Trista’s side but he didn’t want to fight either. “Are you certain you can get her to understand?” Alaric huffed. “After everything she’s been through? She hasn’t had enough time to cope. I only hope I can minimize the damage you’ve caused.” He paused, eyeing his patient. Rurik knew his friend was thinking this through. Finally Alaric turned back to him. “Look, with whoever they’re sending, we can keep their contact short. For medical

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reasons. She recently had a full-body restoration and she’s been yanked from her natural environs. Besides that, her mind and body are still adapting to space travel. The reasoning will make sense. Then all the representative needs to hear is that she agrees to the union and the rep and the council ship can be on their way.” “I hope you’re right.” Alaric put his hand on Rurik’s shoulder. “I’ll work on her. Don’t worry. Right now you have other things to do. Like protect this ship and everyone in it, including Trista. Then find Trista’s offspring.” “I have Jinn on it. She’ll recover the children.” Alaric nodded. “She’s tenacious. I’m sure she’ll find them.” “You don’t know the half of it.” Rurik ran a hand through his hair, trying to ease his mind. “She giving you a hard time?” Rurik stopped and stared at his friend. “When hasn’t she?” Alaric snickered. “She likes her sex. She won’t let up until you let her roam freely through the male populace again.” Rurik growled. “If she finds the children, I’ll think about it.” He glanced at Trista once again. Whenever she was nearby, he couldn’t stop looking at her. Perhaps Alaric was right. “Fine, I give up. Take care of Trista. You’re right. I have other concerns I need to address, the least of them the council rep they’re sending. I swear the attacks are Drakkar’s doing but until I can prove it—” “You’re stuck with the truce,” Alaric finished for him. “Exactly.” The Vulgarian ship that had attacked had the latest model cloaking device, one their best indicators couldn’t detect until the ship was within firing range. “I’d like to know where the enemy is getting this stuff. With their war debts, I didn’t think the Vulgarians could afford them. We certainly can’t. Our treasury is seriously depleted.” Alaric nodded, the dread Rurik felt reflected in his gaze. “I know what you mean. And the fact that we don’t know when they’ll hit again makes you finding them more imperative. Doesn’t the council understand that?” Rurik nodded. “Yes. I explained it but they believe the issue is some small misunderstanding with the Vulgarian ship and insisted on sending a representative. Apparently my mating is more important than whether or not we have dead and wounded.” Alaric shook his head. “Your uncle is a stubborn one.” Rurik grumbled. “I know it. I’d like to find out who’s financing Drakkar. Maybe I can convince the council rep to focus on that instead.” “Good thought,” Alaric smirked. “If you can keep your mind off screwing your lady here.”

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Rurik glowered. That was almost impossible but he had to for the sake of the ship. He looked at Trista and shook his head, amazed at the priorities the council adopted. Yes, she was an Earther, but hell, the galaxy was falling apart and they worried about with whom he bonded? He looked at Trista once more, wishing he could have made things different for her. Not one to waste time, he turned to exit. “Well, there’s one positive thing that’s come from this.” “And what’s that?” Derision laced Alaric’s voice. Rurik stopped in the portal and cast a glance at his friend. “Once again you’ve been shown to be correct.” Alaric shot him a quizzical glare. “About?” Rurik chuckled. “Looks like you were right about the children and their Svendian roots, at least the boy. The handsome chap looks a hell of a lot like his father.” Rurik walked off, leaving Alaric gaping. With the realization that he had sired, a new feeling grew in Rurik’s chest. “A boy. By the ancestors.” He shook his head, hoping the man the boy had become would have an easier time accepting him than did his mother.

***** Even with their advanced technology, finding an unknown in this high desert was difficult, but finally their scouring had paid off. Jinn stared at the raging battle through her visor, watched as the boy and the others in his small group advanced, her nephew downing one of his enemy combatants. “In the middle of a fight. I guessed that one right,” she mumbled. Yet the tense activity was exactly what they needed. She pointed to two of her teammates. “Keep him alive. We’ll use the commotion as a cover for when we transport him to the ship.” The rest of their orders had been well-briefed. They would isolate the boy, use a small explosion to make it look as if the man had been blown apart then leave a few traces of fake body parts lying around. With Earth’s technology level, they would test out as real. No one from this world would know. Jinn glanced through the visor again, watching her team progress. One of the men with her nephew fired a shot with an ancient’s rifle then turned. She recognized the soldier, someone she had fought before. Shatz. “Vulgarian camouflaged near the target. Look out,” she warned her teammates and aimed her laser. Thank the ancestors her group was cloaked. She was able to stun the man before another near him cloaked, taking the unconscious man with him, right in front of her nephew and two of his Earth buddies. The effect froze the three soldiers for a split moment. Then they scrambled. Shots fired around them. She saw her nephew flinch in pain before the three men dodged behind a crevice in the rocks. “Take out their enemies,” she ordered the team. “I’ll get the boy.” She ran after him.

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Even cloaked, she had to avoid the rifle fire. Her personal power shield was nearly drained from the long search. The invisible cover would only hold back one or two more hits. She hurried to the crag the men regrouped in, heard the volley of the antiquated rifles. She scrambled over the rocky edge to the rear of them. “Hurry up, Joe. We gotta move,” one of the soldiers standing at the edge of the group of rocks commanded. Another of them checked her nephew’s shoulder. Panic laced his voice. “I’d like to know what the hell that was.” “It’s only a flesh wound,” she heard the boy say as he yanked his arm away. “Let’s get out of here.” “Move out.” The one taking guard stepped back. She stunned him first. He fell slowly, the look of surprise ingrained in his face. “Shit.” Her nephew readied his weapon and ran to the edge of the rock. Lying flat against the surface, he scanned the ridge where his enemies hid. The other man ducked behind another rock and hoisted his rifle, releasing a few shots in their adversaries’ direction. Jinn fired again, stunning the last man. Her nephew spun in her direction and fired. The bullet chinked against her shield and fell. She felt the impact, harder than she should. Wincing, she materialized. “Hello, Hunter.” His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. “What?” She scowled. “You know it isn’t nice to shoot your aunt.” Before he could react, she stunned him. He fell with his blue eyes open, the same eyes she’d seen so many times before. Satisfied, she brushed away the short blond lock that had fallen over his face. “Battle number two, my favor.” She released a low chuckle. “Oh yeah, my brother’s going to love you.” Pressing her comm unit, she signaled the rest of the team. In moments, they set up the crash site, Hunter’s “final” Earth resting place, and they were off, boy in tow.

***** Alaric ran a hand over the bonding circlets he had boxed. A sadness filled him. At one time, he had prepared these for his impending joining but that had never materialized. Now he hoped to use them for another purpose. Sliding them back into the storage compartment, he gazed at Trista’s sleeping form, conflicted about how to get her to realize she wasn’t in a dream and confused as to

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whether it would be better if, until the council representative left, she was allowed to believe this wasn’t real. Pressing a few buttons on the side panel to the bed, he gauged the light emission that would cause her to wake, and sat down. He now knew that an old type of formal ceremony would be demanded from the council, something that hadn’t been done in…well, he didn’t know how long. Long before he or his grandsires would have known. Why the ceremony remained on the books was a mystery. The rite was barbaric. He wondered how much the ritual would traumatize Rurik’s mate. Making an arch with his fingers, he considered his options. Should he convince her she wasn’t not dreaming? Or simply let her think she still fantasized? And if he did, should he tell her about the ritual? He was sure Rurik hadn’t told her all that would be required of her as a bonded woman, otherwise the enormity of everything that had occurred might have actually jarred her mind into believing this reality. Her eyes fluttered open. She moaned, a bit groggy. Lifting her arm, she covered her eyes. “Hello, Trista.” He took her hand and pulled the arm off her eyes. She stared at him. “Am I still dreaming?” He sighed, not willing to lie outright to her. “What do you think?” She blinked then stared at him a moment. “I have no idea.” Trista eased herself up on her side. “I’m beginning to think this is real.” Alaric flinched. “Really?” She nodded. “Well, look how long I’ve been in this fantasy. But how could it be? I mean, really,” she waved her hand around to indicate her strange surroundings, “look at this stuff. A spaceship? Can’t be. I’m obviously in a hospital. My kids are probably wondering where I am. Well, at least Mercedes. There’s no way I can get a hold of Hunter. He’s in the army, you know. The Middle East somewhere.” She grimaced. She worried incessantly about her son. “I’m sure he’s fine.” Alaric patted her hand. “If he wasn’t, you would have heard something.” “True.” She gazed at him. “What about your daughter?” “Mercedes? She’s fine. She calls as often as she can. She would want to know that I’m in a hospital.” The healer’s eyes glittered. “I’ll see what I can do to locate her.” “Mmmm.” She eyed the medical man. “Okay, like I said before, I miss my mind, so I figure the best way to get it back is to talk to you—fantasy or not—especially since you seem to be the only one who’s rational. So you’re the doctor in my dreams, right?”

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His eyes narrowed a moment and he nodded. “Right.” “So, if that’s the case then I’m guessing you’re the only one who can tell me why I’m thinking about this stuff. I mean, Rurik the Conqueror? Get real. How corny can you get?” Alaric smirked and lifted a black brow. “Since he’s been a captain, he has never lost a battle. The man’s a military genius.” “Really?” She laughed. “Okay, so why would I want to ‘bond’ with a military genius? And what is bonding anyway?” Alaric lifted a corner of his rich lips. “I can see Rurik is going to enjoy his life with you, should this ever play out.” His voice grew quieter near the end of his comment. “Play out?” Alaric cleared his throat. “Never mind. Let’s start with the first. Bonding is the Earth form of marriage. It’s fairly permanent. However, because we have, ah,” he looked away a moment, “issues in our society regarding…er…things, if something happens to the male you’ve bonded with, then there are four other men at the ceremony who, in succession, will take the husband’s place should anything happen to him.” “You mean if the husband dies.” “Yes. Or becomes unable to, er, complete his duties as a mate.” “Really? Okay, so what happens if I divorce him? I mean, maybe this is my way of handling the pain of failure in my marriage.” Alaric’s brows knitted. “Doubtful. This doesn’t have anything to do with your first marriage.” “Hmmm.” She thought on that and decided he was right. Rurik wasn’t anything like Seth. What was her brain trying to work out? “So, there are four other men at this ceremony.” “Yes.” “Do I marry all of them?” “No. Only one at a time. However, all the men must agree to the possibility of bonding with you. If something happens to the second, then you go to the third, and so forth. And if any one of them bonds as the first male in another ceremony then he falls out of the rotation, unless his woman dies. It’s set up that way to protect you.” “Protect me? From what?” “Mmm, things. It’s to make sure you’re, well,” he shrugged, “taken care of.” “As if I can’t take care of myself. What a sexist crock. Why would I think that? What am I afraid of? Ouch.” She rubbed her head, the small pain in it growing stronger. “Damn, does that setup sound medieval or what?” “I…wouldn’t know.” The healer stumbled over the words. “But if you’re worried about being a productive member of the society, don’t. You will be more than productive. I guarantee it.”

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She cocked a brow. “Oh yeah? And what else?” Alaric shrugged. “What else is there?” She grimaced. “What do I get to do for a living?” The healer stumbled over some nonsensical words and for a moment appeared at a loss as to what to tell her. “Well, you’ll be a part of an old family, one that carries a lot of clout in our society.” “Fine, but what do I get to do? You know, as in a career.” Alaric opened his mouth then closed it and peered at her as if in thought. “It’s your dream. What do you think?” She sat up and put her finger in the air to confirm that fact. “Yeah, you’re right. Ha.” She paused. “I need to think this through.” She tucked one hand under her elbow and tapped her lips with a finger from the other. “You know, I need to empower myself more. I’ve been down on myself for awhile. Mostly from that shitty marriage of mine.” She pursed her lips in thought then let her hands drop to her lap. “Yeah,” she nodded, “that must be why I’m dreaming this. I’ve let myself be downtrodden for too long. Putting myself in this unusual situation lets me see that and lets me know I can change and adapt. That must be it. Humph. Well, okay,” she glanced at Alaric, “then I know what I need to do. I need to change the way I’ve thought about myself. Besides, I like the woman I’ve become.” She ran her palms down her breasts and examined her body. “I’ll use that to go out and do something useful. Yep.” She knew she spoke to herself but she looked at Alaric anyway. “I’ll change my world.” “You will, trust me,” Alaric mumbled as he rested his elbows on his knees. Yeah this was a fantasy, but something about it freed her, made her take control of her own life for once. “Tell me more about this bonding ceremony. Of course, you’ll be there.” Alaric snickered. “Of course. I’ll be the second man.” “You mean after Rurik.” “Yes.” “How was that decided?” “Rurik makes those decisions.” “I don’t get a say?” Alaric shrugged. “You can discuss it with him but he makes the final choice.” “Pfff, well that control shit has got to go. I make my own decisions now.” Alaric sputtered then smiled at her. “Do you have a problem with me?” She glanced him over. “Oh no, not at all. In fact, you seem much more laid back, which I appreciate.” “Good.” A corner of Alaric’s mouth rose. “But there’s three more that Rurik’s decided on, right?” He nodded. 59

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She scratched her neck, curious about why she would want five men to “bond” with, but she was going to go with the strange idea. In this moment, she thrived in this new realm of self-discovery. And she really wanted to find out more about herself. “That boy, Cedric.” She folded an arm under her breasts and lay a finger aside her face. “Is he one of them?” “Yes,” Alaric said. “He’ll be the third man.” “Hmm, why would I think of a boy? ‘Course, he’s very cute.” She spoke to herself but Alaric answered. “Maybe it is because you know you’ve been restored to about his age, maybe a little older. And that you know you’ll live to about a thousand of your Earth years.” “Really?” She cocked her head. “I didn’t know that but I’m glad I made it up. So how old am I now, in your years anyway?” Alaric bit the inside of his cheek, she could tell. “About three hundred and thirty three as you would know them.” “Noooo.” She glanced at her hands and then her body and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. My skin is so much smoother. Cool.” She lifted her arms in the air, staring at the cloth that hung from them, then pressed her palms to her breasts. “Interesting threads. So what’s the reason I came up with these?” She tugged at her clothes. The healer squeezed his eyes shut as if in pain then opened them to look at her and sighed. “Because they’re comfortable?” “And seductive. I mean I’m totally naked underneath. No lingerie at all.” She waggled her eyebrows. “You know, honestly, there’s a secret part of me that gets turned on with that. Gosh, I must want to seduce all of you. Maybe at the same time.” The healer blushed and mumbled, “You might get your wish.” Trista hadn’t expected that. She laughed. “Never thought I was that kinky but okay.” She shrugged. “You know, even this sheer overlay exposes a lot. It’s funny. I never even used to wear a bikini, although Mercedes wanted me to. I couldn’t handle it. But now? Here I’ve visualized myself in all kinds of alluring garb.” “Maybe you are trying to release a part of yourself that you’ve caged for too long.” Alaric scratched his nose, using his hand to cover his grin. “Hmmm, makes sense.” Trista could tell he enjoyed this, which made her happy. She liked this guy. “So why am I going for some guy like Rurik when I could have you?” He about choked. She went to slap his back but he stopped her. “Maybe you’re in love with him.” That took her for a turn. Was she really in love with him? She had always imagined herself so. She grimaced. “He seems rather arrogant. And demanding. I mean, anyone calling themselves ‘The Conqueror’.” She flexed the index and middle fingers on each hand a few times to show air quotations marks, just to be funny. “I don’t know if I

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appreciate that. I’ve been getting used to running my own life, thank you. Although I have to say, that man is outstanding in bed. I’ve never had the like.” This time the healer broke out in peals of laughter. Trista bent her knees and cradled them to her chest. Before she could query him again, the portal slid open. Rurik, her conqueror, marched in, a look of urgency written on his face. “Thank the ancestors you’re awake.” Alaric stood and positioned himself between her and Rurik. “The council?” Rurik pressed his lips together and nodded. “The ship has docked and the representative is on the way here.” He stood with his back to the door. Trista leaned forward so she could look around Alaric and see both men. “Who did they send?” The healer had barely gotten the question out when the portal slid open. Alaric’s jaw dropped and he plopped a hand on Rurik’s shoulder as if in part to warn Rurik and in part to support himself. Rurik’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed and rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. Leaning farther forward, she see could see around Rurik’s large frame. Trista stared with curiosity. A slender woman stood in the doorway. Long, dark, curling hair flowed over her shoulders. She was dressed something like Trista except her purple outfit revealed even more. The lady’s shift didn’t thicken at the waist like Trista’s. Instead, the sheerness went all the way to her ankles. The fabric highlighted her breast shields and the golden girdle that hugged her sculpted waist like a high-cut thong. The stunning lady looked older than the men but younger than Trista’s age—well at least at her real age of fifty. Yet this woman glowed with health and vitality, her trim figure firm and muscular. As sexy as the woman looked, she could have seduced any man. Even Rurik. Something about that made Trista jealous. The woman glanced at the two men, scanning them from head to toe, then pointed her bluish-purple gaze at Trista and smiled. Rurik sighed and closed his eyes for a brief moment then spun and gazed at the woman. If Trista hadn’t known better, she would have thought her conqueror worried. Trista’s fantasy lover swallowed before he and Alaric bowed their heads in deference to the lady. Then the men straightened and Rurik looked deadpan at the woman. “Greetings, Mother.”

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Chapter Six “Mother?” Trista studied Rurik. “You mean to say this is your mother?” Rurik grasped Trista’s hand and squeezed her fingers as if to comfort her. Little good it did. Her shock didn’t come from the fact the lady was his mom, it came from the fact that his mother was some sex goddess. Now what would Trista do? And why did she visualize her lover’s mother? She laid the finger of her free hand against her cheek. Very weird. “Greetings, Rurik.” With perfect poise, the woman stepped into the room and went to her son. He bent over and she kissed him on the cheek as any good mother would. It didn’t help to ease Trista’s fears that the woman’s voice dripped with blatant sensuality and obvious breeding. If anything, the woman had class. “Alaric.” With an air of dignity, she nodded to the healer and smiled. A light danced in her eyes as she held her hand to him. Expressionless, Alaric nodded once more. “Andromeda.” He took her hand and kissed the back of it. Trista wondered at that. So far, she’d never seen the doc so formal and yet so distant. Not his usual affable self. “Well…” The woman turned to her. “Trista, is it?” With the woman’s strange yet beautiful and penetrating gaze directed to her, Trista didn’t know what to say. If this fantasy was to be believed, what did one say to a woman of high social status whose son you’d actually just met but had fucked really well several times over the years, and yet didn’t have a clue as to what kind of man he was? “Hi.” Feeling goofy, she lifted her free hand and waved like a child. The woman’s smile deepened. “I’m glad my son has finally claimed you. Now perhaps we can get the bonding ritual completed and you both can get on with your lives.” She looked askance at her son. Rurik cleared his throat. “I don’t suppose the council sent another as their representative?” She huffed in the most petite way then took an authoritative tone. “No. Rurik, I’ll tell you true. I am here to officiate. I want to get this done. I’m tired of arguing with your uncle about your trips to untamed planets. You know how elitist he is. You’re lucky I was able to get this through.” Rurik’s grasp eased. “So we will be allowed to bond?” She chuckled softly. “Of course. Why else would I be here? Besides, I had to meet my future daughter.” She lifted her hand and brushed Trista’s cheek with the back of her finger. Her milky skin was the softest Trista had ever felt. 62

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“How did you manage to get the council to approve it?” Rurik’s voice held a hint of concern. Andromeda glanced at her son. “I took the advantage while Craddock sat at the negotiating table with the Vulgarians, arguing about this latest attack. The Vulgarians are insisting they were hit first—” “A lie,” Rurik interrupted. Andromeda shrugged her delicate shoulders. “Your uncle was furious over the approval but I couldn’t care less. The man’s a menace. This should have been settled long ago. There is one problem though.” She squished the patrician features of her face together. “You are to use the ancient rites.” “What?” Rurik stood flabbergasted. Trista didn’t like the surprise she saw on his face. “I…” Rurik’s mother cast a sidelong glance at Trista. “I couldn’t change that, not and get the full council’s approval, especially after your uncle’s interference.” “Then I’ll ignore it. We can have the ceremony like everyone else,” Rurik growled. “No you won’t,” Andromeda ordered. “We’re from an old family and you are a commander. Someday you might actually lead our people. You have responsibilities to those who rely on you to do whatever you can not to jeopardize this. You know you need to stay on the council’s good side. If you don’t follow their directives now, then you won’t get their support when you need it most.” Trista stared at Rurik, trying to get an idea of what that meant. Andromeda lifted her chin. “We’ll talk about it privately. Meanwhile, I have a daughter to prepare.” “But…” Rurik protested. “No buts. Leave.” If it was possible, Rurik seemed to stand taller. “I won’t have you officiate. Not with the ancient rites. This is going to be tough enough as it is.” She shook her head. “Look, I fought the good fight. I’m here to make sure this goes smoothly. You don’t have a choice. It’s this or nothing.” Rurik stared at Trista then back at his mother, glaring. “Come, Rurik.” Alaric pulled his arm. “We must go and prepare you as well. We have two other men to find. Quickly.” “I’ve already taken care of that,” Andromeda added. “They will be ones you can trust.” “Who?” Rurik seemed anchored to the floor. “Don’t be stubborn,” his mother chided. “I’m not leaving until you tell me who. I’m not going through this with unknowns.” “My guard, Ranulf, for one.” “And?’ 63

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Her shoulders drooped. She glanced at the floor then back at him. “Your sister will sit in for another to be named. You have the right to designate whomever you want when you find them. It is the law.” “Jinn? But she’s supposed to be finding my…” He glanced at Trista. “Never mind. We’ll discuss this later.” “Yes, we will.” His mother crossed her arms, looking peeved. “And I talked to your sister, too. Apparently she’s been successful in some task you’ve given her.” Rurik paled. Just a little, Trista could tell. “Did she tell you what that task was?” “No.” Andromeda’s purple eyes narrowed like two darts. “She stated that you would have to be the one to tell me. However she guaranteed me she was not in any more trouble with you. She said she’d be waiting for you in the brig.” “The…” Flustered, Rurik stalked toward to the door then swerved back to face Alaric. “You coming?” He glared. The healer eyed Andromeda’s female assets then spoke, his voice gruff. “Rurik’s woman needs to eat,” he told Andromeda. “Please see she gets sustenance.” Andromeda’s stern countenance softened when she looked at Alaric. “I will care for her. Don’t worry.” Trista thought the woman’s eyes glazed over. Scowling, Alaric grabbed Rurik’s arm. With one last glance at Trista, Rurik let his friend pull him away. Andromeda sighed as the portal slid shut. “I knew he would fight this. When the man makes up his mind on something he wants, he’s unstoppable.” She smiled at Trista. “I can understand what he sees in you though. You’re a beautiful woman.” “Me?” Trista said. “Yes, you. Even if I hadn’t known something about you already, I can read the intelligence and self-sacrifice in your eyes. You’re a sensitive, caring and dedicated female. Honest, yet not blatant about it. However, I understand we will need to build up your confidence in yourself. Now stand. Let me see you.” Not wanting to disappoint this lady, she swung her legs over the side and hopped up on her feet, nearly tumbling in the process. The woman grabbed hold of her and sat her back on the bed. “Hmmm, perhaps sitting is a better idea. You’ve been through quite a bit.” She steadied Trista. After she seemed sure Trista could sit on her own, she walked over to the console. Waving her hand over the screen, she pressed a few buttons. “My son says you’ve agreed to this union. If you have any doubts regarding it, now is the time to speak.” The headache Trista had nursed came back with a vengeance. She knew this wasn’t real but everything about it seemed so genuine. Which totally confused her and made her head throb. Logic told her this was a dream, albeit a long one. Yet the people in the delusion were more real than she cared to admit. And the situation…she would have never pictured herself in a spaceship. Still, she’d dreamed about Rurik so often, a man who cared about what she wanted in bed, one so tender he made her orgasm just

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thinking about his touch. A man who seemed to cherish her out of bed as well. And perhaps that was it. Perhaps what she found in Rurik was what she wanted to find in a real, red-blooded man. Strong yet sensitive. Perfect. Except the more she got to know him, the more she realized he wasn’t as flawless as she thought. He had his shortcomings, although they were ones she could live with as long as the love was there. Realization dawned on her. She wanted to love and be loved, for real. By someone, like Rurik, who knew how to treat those he held sacred in his heart. She grimaced, thinking she’d probably latched so hard onto this fantasy because she was lonely and needy. She didn’t want to be. With the kids grown and out of the house, she wanted someone she could share her life and her love with. Someone she would grow old with and be as one heart. Trista was so deep in her romanticized thoughts she didn’t realize Andromeda had come to her with a plate of food, not until Rurik’s mother lifted it in front of her and Trista smelled the delicious aroma. “Eat,” Andromeda’s soft voice soothed. “Then we’ll talk.”

***** Rurik marched into the brig. A man wearing an Earther’s dusty desert camouflage sat within the laser-charged cell, his hands bound behind him, blood on his face. A warrior. Pride swelled within Rurik. The boy stood quickly as Rurik came closer. “Why is he in shackles?” Rurik turned to Jinn who’d been leaning with her back against the wall on the opposite side, her arms folded in front of her. She hiked her leg up and rested the sole of her boot against the metal wall, smirking. Eyeing Rurik then the boy, she chuckled from her gut. “Because he’s a bit much to handle, even with our technology. Reminds me of someone.” Her eyes narrowed as she cocked her head and stared at Rurik from beneath her brows. “Besides,” she perked back up and smiled at the boy, “he’d been wounded in the shoulder and we needed to fix it. He wouldn’t let me near otherwise. He and some of his buddies were in the middle of a battle when we found him. So were two Vulgarians who cloaked. I recognized one of them. Anyway, we kind of surprised the boy here. He and his friends scattered when the Vulgarians cloaked. He got shot.” She looked at Alaric, who’d come in behind Rurik. “All I could do was close the wound. The metal slug is still in there. God’s teeth, what a brutal way to fight.” She hissed the last through her clenched teeth. Alaric nodded to her, telling her without words that he understood he had some work to do. While they talked, Rurik eased toward the cell, staring at a younger version of himself, awed that he got to see his son this close firsthand. “Hunter.”

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The boy straightened. He stood taller than Rurik, albeit not as well filled out, yet he was powerfully built. His son studied him in return. Hunter’s eyes narrowed. “Who the hell are you?” he uttered, his voice quiet, wonder and annoyance underpinning the spoken words. The boy leaned closer to examine him. “I am Rurik,” he whispered and met the boy’s gaze. Silence reigned as they scrutinized one another, yet the tension, the unspoken questions, the incredulity of this moment escalated. Jinn snorted, breaking the invisible hold. “We did a body scan and ID’d him. Not that you couldn’t tell by looking at him, but your DNA patterns compared to his are about as close as you can get with a pater-son relationship. Or so says the computer.” “Open the cell.” Jinn pressed a few buttons on the console near her. The beams dissipated. Anger grew in Hunter’s wary eyes. He had a son. Rurik wanted to grab him and hug him, slap him on the back, one man to another, but based on Trista’s reaction and her extent of disbelief, Rurik figured the boy would punch him out, as angry and confused as he looked, should Rurik take such familiarity. “You are welcome here…Hunter.” The boy didn’t move. “What do you want with me?” Rurik swallowed. “You are my son. I think it’s time we got to know one another.” Hunter’s mouth opened briefly then he pressed his lips together. “Why should I believe you?” Rurik stepped to him and placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Look at me,” he murmured. “In your heart, what do you think?” The boy’s eyes moistened as he whispered, “I used to pray that the bastard my mother married wasn’t my real dad. Where the hell have you been?” His body shook. The fear in Rurik’s chest that his son wouldn’t accept him fled. “I’ve been in a war—like you. We have much to discuss.” “Damn right we do.” Rage arose in his gaze again. “Unbind him.” He gave Jinn the order. Scowling, she walked behind Hunter and pressed the code that would release him from the cuffs. The boy pulled his hands around and rubbed his wrists. “I need to go back. My team…” “Jinn has taken care of that. They think you’re dead.” “Look, whether you really are my father or not, it’s a little late for you to interfere with my life. Besides, I’m not leaving my mother and sister there alone. Someone has to take care of them. They need me.” Rurik paused, wondering how much he should explain right now. “Your mother and sister will be provided for.”

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“Provided for?” Acid dripped from his voice. “Fuck, you’ve provided for them so well up to now you haven’t even needed to be there. I mean, here you are, some guy running around the universe. Except for me, you have no ties to her.” Hunter snorted. “What the hell was she to you anyway? An easy lay?” Rurik growled. “Do not speak about your mother like that.” He huffed. “You make it sound like you care.” “I do.” “Then why did you leave her?” The accusation hung heavy in the air. Hunter placed his hands on his hips and stepped toe-to-toe to Rurik. “I understand she wasn’t from your world and that she could probably never understand yours, but you left at least one child behind. Me. God only knows how many others.” Before Rurik could explain, the main portal to the brig opened up. Andromeda stood in the doorway, her hands on her hips. “A son? Why do I have to find out these things secondhand from my guard? Rurik, I do not appreciate this. Shame on you.” Hunter sputtered then glared at Rurik. “Oh, I get it. While you were taking a break on Earth fucking my mother, you had her stashed up here as your main snatch. You son of a—” “No.” Rurik shook his head. His son didn’t wait for an explanation. Hunter’s fist landed on the underside of his jaw. The crack from the solid impact echoed in his ear. Bolts of light crossed Rurik’s vision as he fell backward against the hard floor. Groaning, he struggled to sit as Alaric hovered over him. “Let me see that,” his friend said. “I’m fine.” Rurik brushed him away. “Shatz.” He wiggled his jaw with his hand. The boy’s fist felt like Ploruvian steel. He looked at his son. Hunter fumed. Rurik hadn’t tried to block the punch—because he couldn’t blame him. Jinn stepped alongside the boy, snickering. “Nice shot.” His sister grinned as she slapped Hunter on the shoulder then propped her elbow on the top of his collarbone, cocking her hip in the process and using Hunter to support her weight. “By the ancestors, that felt good.” She glared at Rurik. He glowered back at her, warning her to ease off. Taken aback, Hunter looked between both of them. “That’s enough.” Andromeda marched over to the boy and pointed her finger at him before Rurik could rise and stop her. “Hunter, do not talk to me in that manner or, grown man or no, I’ll take you to task over it.” Surprised by Andromeda’s aggressiveness, the look on the boy’s face signaled a retreat. “I apologize, ma’am. I didn’t mean anything bad about you. I don’t normally talk about women that way but…” Flustered, he said nothing more. Andromeda lifted her chin, victorious. “I would hope not. Besides, you should only say nice things about your grandmother, especially since you don’t even know me yet.” 67

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The boy’s jaw dropped. “Grandmother?” A blond brow arched. “You’re…” He pointed his finger back at her then looked at Rurik. “Yes, Rurik is my son.” She swallowed. Rurik could tell she tried to keep her emotions in check. She lifted her hand and brushed her fingers against the boy’s cheek. “You look so much like your grandfather.” “Holy shit,” Hunter breathed. Standing erect, Jinn laughed. “You can say that again, Nephew,” and slapped him on the back. Rurik stood. Before anything else could be said, the ship rocked with another attack. “Jinn, secure him.” “Already on it.” His sister took his son by the arm. “Mother?” Rurik said. His mother had already found a seat and strapped herself in. “I’m fine. Get going.” She looked at Alaric. “You too.” Rurik hurried out the door, Alaric by his side. “Trista.” “I’ll take care of her,” Alaric said. “Get the ship to rights. There are too many civilians at stake.” They rushed to the transporter as another hit shook the corridor. The events of the last daylight cycles ran through Rurik’s brain. He snorted, chuckling over the incredibility of it all. Alaric looked at him as if he’d gone insane. “I’m a sire.” Rurik grinned as the door to the transporter opened. He felt like a kid. “At least the boy knows I’m real.” Alaric snickered, realizing his joy. “Perhaps you have lost your mind.” A boom sounded. The ship’s starboard side had been hit. Then blackness encompassed them.

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Chapter Seven Trista rubbed her head. After Andromeda was called away, the earthquakes started again, plunging everything into darkness. When the lights came back on, Alaric had found her sprawled on the floor. She’d fallen and hit her noggin on the corner of one of the consoles. After treating her with that medical ray thingy, he put her back in the bed and belted her in, reassuring her that all would be well and showing her how to unstrap herself when the time came, and how to read the console to know when all would be clear. She’d been frightened out of her wits but she breathed easier now. None of the shocks had been as hard as the one that knocked the lights out. The building, or whatever she was in, held. She saw no cracks or fissures anywhere. When the all-clear light came on, she unbuckled herself and sat on the edge of the hospital bed to think. She closed her eyes to dissipate the many images. For a dream, the effects of her visions were of extreme proportions, yet she tried to think of what her thoughts could mean. Throughout her life, there’d always been one obstacle or another for her to overcome. Because of that she figured part of her mind had to come up with issues just to keep the status quo. Which would explain the pretend attacks by some enemy. Just one more thing that could hold her back. Being logical, she explained Alaric as her protective angel, someone to pick her up when she fell. And Andromeda was the bridge to lead her into a new life. The visions of Rurik were the strongest. Those had to mean so much more. She decided the conqueror was her subconscious telling her where she wanted her life to go and that she wouldn’t fail. A new life, if she chose, lay ahead. Understanding this, she realized Rurik represented her happiness—and had for a long time. Something that she wanted. Yet she held back from seizing her desires, which was why she hadn’t bonded with Rurik yet. The rite, the “bonding” ceremony, signified a step into a new life, one in which she created her own joy. That was it. It had to be. In the real world, she’d been afraid to do anything for her own happiness because something always went wrong— usually in the form of Seth. But Seth was no longer a factor. He couldn’t hurt her anymore. She pressed her lips together. The time had come for her to commit herself to her own happiness, to bond with her future and let the past go. Rurik wanted to mate with her. Her subconscious wanted her to commit to a new life.

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She agreed. The time had come to put her fears aside. With the kids grown and onto lives of their own, she had the opportunity for an existence of her choosing. Trista heard the whoosh of the door and opened her eyes. Andromeda walked in, bringing her back into the dream and, she realized, closer to an epiphany. Andromeda smiled at her. “Have you decided?” Andromeda began to list her options for her and talked about the responsibilities and benefits that came with the decisions, but she needn’t have bothered. Trista had already made up her mind. “Yes.” Trista nodded then hopped off the mattress. A bit woozy, she steadied herself against the bed. “I want to move on with my life, with Rurik, and I won’t be afraid. It’s time I grabbed my happiness with both hands.” A dark brow of Andromeda’s arched. “A worthy goal.” She went to the console and pressed a few buttons and giggled. “However, perhaps this will help you on your way.” A door to a hidden cabinet slid open near the panel of lights. Andromeda pulled out an ornate cup filled with a purple liquid then handed the drink to Trista. “Wine?” Trista asked. Andromeda smiled like an imp. “Why not?” she shrugged. “This is a major moment. We should celebrate.” “Why not,” Trista nodded firmly. Tipping the cup, she drank every drop. “Come, new daughter of mine.” She took Trista by the hand. “I will prepare you then lead you to your bondsmate.” The effects of the wine hit Trista in no time. Thinking of Rurik, her libido kickstarted into high gear. Of course, in real life it had to be the drugs but what the heck? Time to move forward. She was ready. And she deserved this.

***** Dressed formally for the ceremony, Rurik paced his room, waiting. The ends of his open royal blue jacket fluttered, exposing more of his naked chest, but he ignored the cool air that brushed him, too worried about the recent events, and knowing the room would heat up quick enough. He pursed his lips, wondering how to capture his enemy. Another of his ships had chased the attacking Vulgarians but his nemesis had cloaked before Rurik’s crew could reach them. Drakkar’s forces had again gotten away. Rurik scowled, his mind churning, trying to think of how the Vulgarians could be finding them. At least this time his mother had been here to witness the attack. She could bring firsthand testimony to the council. He listened to his own steps, letting the soft tap of his boots against the floor filter out the chatter of the ceremonial attendants, allowing him to think. As it stood, the

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damage to the command ship had been significant but his crew had already repaired the main thruster and had made headway on the bulkhead. Given the previous attacks, it would be some time before they saw the same Vulgarian ship again. The area was as clear as it could be. Which was why he wanted to proceed with the bonding rite as soon as possible, then get Trista and his mother to safety. He glanced at the men who stood with him—Alaric, his best friend from childhood, Cedric, the boy who would be man, and Ranulf, an older soldier and his mother’s guard. These would be the men to care for Trista should he fail in his duties—or if he died. However, as it stood, Alaric and Cedric were in the same peril as he was. Trista might be left with the older man. Even so, he knew Ranulf would care for her well. Cedric snickered again as another joke was told at Rurik’s expense. Rurik looked at the younger man and huffed. The other men smirked as they watched him in return, Ranulf snorting at some other vulgar thing Cedric said. The three of them took turns hassling Rurik, knowing what was to come. Even Alaric, although somewhat reticent at the moment, heckled him. Rurik glanced at the bed that Jinn had thought to turn the sheets down on. Thank the fates that even Ranulf agreed to accept Trista without personal inspection. He was going to have a hard enough time apologizing to her about the witnessing. The sarcastic cut in Alaric’s voice interrupted his thoughts, some comment about Rurik’s manhood. He glanced up as the three men hooted. Disgusted, he looked away. Truth be told, he was more nervous about joining with Trista than facing a whole wing of Vulgarian fighters. Then with his mother officiating, God’s teeth, how was he to perform his husbandly duty? And why in Hades hadn’t his uncle planned to come himself? Damnation, sending his mother on this duty and knowing about these attacks… He clenched his jaw, glad Alaric had seen fit to give him a Nyphosian drug. The narcotic was enough to take the edge off, but one that would keep him stimulated. He swerved, sick of the heckling from the men, and looked at Jinn. She sat to the other side with her arms crossed. His sister looked like she’d swallowed a bottle of vinegar. He approached her, glad at least she didn’t join in the men’s merriment. “Jinn.” He kept his voice low, not wanting the others to hear. “I…” She looked at him. Seeing her in this light, he noticed her eyes were reddened and moist. If he didn’t know her better, he would have thought she’d cried before she’d come to his quarters. She gave him a weak smile. “Well, you have what you want, Rurik, although I must say I don’t approve of the current rites much less the ancient one.” “I know.” He smiled at her. “I’m not much for using outdated ceremonies myself. I hate to think what Trista is going to think about this.” Her smile grew warmer. “You really like her, don’t you?” He nodded and swallowed. “I do.” Taking his sister’s hands in his, he crouched in front of her. He wanted to thank her but the words didn’t come easy. She’d suffered 71

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through this war as much as he and, with her youth, took the loss of their father much harder. “I know how strongly you dislike this but I thank you for standing in for me anyway. Joining with Trista,” he almost choked, “means a lot to me, probably more than I realize. Certainly more than I’m willing to admit. I’ve spent so much time trying to push down any feelings, just to protect her.” “You have. I know.” She clasped her hand over his. “You have a son by her already, Rurik. You should be proud. I have faith this will be a blessing overall.” She patted his hand. An air of sadness lingered in her smile. “I’m happy for you—and sorry the council is forcing the witnessing on you. It’s bad enough the woman has no rights in the other men she joins with, but to expose herself to the same group of men is ridiculous if it isn’t something she wants. From what you’ve told me about your bondsmate, I’m thinking she won’t be too keen on the process. I hope it doesn’t cause you problems. You have enough as it is, even without me included.” She stood and tugged him up with her then pulled the open ends of the silk wrapper he wore together. “I must say though, she is a lucky woman. She’s getting a good man.” She eyed his body down then up. “And a sexy one at that. All will be well, Rurik. You’ll see.” She pulled on the gold brocade of the jacket as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, then pulling away, she fisted the material in her hands and scowled. “Just make it quick. I’m desperate enough for some sex myself. I don’t need to be around this.” He smirked. “With you and Mother here? How am I supposed to perform? It’s bad enough with those guys,” he jerked his head over his shoulder at the other men, “but I’ll do my best.” “That’s all I ask.” She patted his naked chest. “The Nyphosian wine should help.” He sighed then swallowed, knowing that in the long run, what he was about to say would cause him trouble. “When this is done, I’ll see about getting your privileges back.” Lust drove her broadening grin. “You have a deal.” Behind him, he heard the portal swish. The men quieted. Jinn looked over at the open door then winked at him. “We’re ready,” his mother announced. When Rurik turned, Trista stood in the doorway glowing—and nearly naked in her bondswoman dress. He could smell her essence, her sex calling him, drawing him closer. He perused her body, taking in the nuance of each curve the sheer gown revealed—the small muscles that showed in her narrow waist, the bend of her hips, the soft skin above her jutting breasts. He held his breath. Even though she wore the breast shields, he could see her nipples peak through the flexible metal. She was beautiful. “Wow.” Jinn turned to him. “A perfect model of a fertile female and bondsmate. You really shouldn’t have any trouble.” “God’s teeth,” he hissed through his clenched jaw. His penis throbbed. He glanced at his mother.

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Andromeda smiled at him like a cat. “Trista of Earth has proclaimed she is ready and is willing to bond with you, Rurik of Svendia. Now all we have to do is formalize this.” Andromeda took Trista’s hand and positioned her in front of the bed. “Come.” She waved at Rurik. “Join with the one whom you have claimed.” Trista licked her lips and looked at him with the same nervousness he felt. That small movement made his dick jump to attention in the silky folds of his black pants. “It’s time, Brother.” Jinn pushed him forward and stood him in front of Trista. “Did you have bonding circlets made?” Andromeda asked. Rurik glanced at Alaric, who had promised to acquire some for him. With such short notice, Rurik knew they would be hard to find. Alaric nodded. “I have them.” Pulling out two armbands from a pocket in his uniform, he showed them to Andromeda. “But…” Rurik paused as he looked closer at the flexible gold armbands, exactly the same with the exception that one was larger than the other. The burnished image of two reddish-gold dragons intertwined in sexual bliss gleamed. “Those were yours.” Rurik stared into his friend’s face, confused. Alaric smirked but a sorrowful gaze tinged his eyes. “What use have I for them now? You need them.” He glanced briefly at Andromeda. “I want you to have them with my blessing. You can always get something else later should you desire.” Rurik had always admired them and had been proud of his friend’s accomplishment. “No.” He shook his head. “I would desire nothing else. I am honored.” Trista stepped closer and fingered the jewelry. “These are beautiful. We’re going to wear these? Gee, I wonder what that means?” Trista mumbled the last statement. Rurik sucked in a breath. Although his mother knew something of Trista’s confusion, she chose to ignore it. Rurik wasn’t sure Ranulf would, however, and prayed they could get through this and send him and his mother away before the man caught on that Trista thought her presence there a hallucination. “Yes,” his mother answered Trista. Pausing briefly, his mother gazed at the armbands then folded Alaric’s fingers over the circlets, brushing his hands in the process. Andromeda’s eyes flickered as she glanced up at Rurik’s best friend then she turned away. “We will start.” Putting on a smile, Andromeda positioned Trista’s back to the bed with Rurik facing his intended. Andromeda stood to Rurik’s right and the men, in respective bonding order, stood to his left with Jinn, representing the fourth man, in the rear. “The scribe of my choosing will record the events. Computer, please image in my scriptorial android.” The nervousness in Rurik’s gut grew as the semitransparent image of his mother’s scribe, Jut, materialized. Swallowing, he looked at Trista and prayed he could perform

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in front of all these people. He couldn’t lose her. Not because of something stupid like this. Putting Trista’s hand in his, his mother took off a silk scarf she’d worn around her neck and wrapped it around their enjoined palms. Trista stepped closer to him. He caught a richer whiff of her sex. She grew wetter the nearer they stood together. He could tell from the heady thickness of the scent. His mother spoke, beginning the words of the rite. As if on cue, his penis shot upward and quivered, ready to mark its target. Trista’s sex. As he watched her, the thought of her soft skin intertwined with his—like the dragons on the armband—made him grow even harder. Lightheaded from the spiced wine, he ventured a look at his cock and gulped. The damn thing tented his pants. Hell, he no longer worried that he couldn’t perform. His biggest worry now was that he didn’t come before the rite was over. Trista felt the sensual heat from the wine in her veins, a little something Andromeda had said would help her through the ceremony. A little high and definitely horny, Trista squeezed her legs together as tight as she could, trying to focus on Andromeda’s words, but the longer she stayed by Rurik, the more her libido thrummed. She wondered what had been in the wine to stimulate her because her hormones were jumping like crazy and all she could think about was getting Rurik’s sexy body stripped and naked. Still, this event was important. Her mind was trying to tell her something. She wanted to hold on to every detail. Working to distract herself, she looked around and studied the other men as they watched the procession. They sometimes looked at her and smiled, and sometimes they looked at Rurik and snickered. The older man, the one she knew nothing about, seemed sweet enough and took most of the rite in stride. She was unsure of his role in her overall illusion. Then there was the only woman in the lineup of men. Jinn, Rurik’s sister, who stood there fidgeting and somber. Trista could see the family resemblance. When Jinn caught Trista looking at her, Rurik’s sister put on a small smile and looked away. Trista turned to Rurik’s mother, trying to focus on the words, words that might help her figure out this craziness and let her get back to her real life, one she now knew she wanted to live her way. Andromeda said a blessing over Rurik’s and her fertility and the ability to repopulate since most people couldn’t do that anymore. Something to do with the technology. She wondered what that meant to her. Another passage on Rurik’s family, how old and noble they were. She held back a laugh on that one. Of course she would make them royal of some kind. That made sense in her momentary delusion of grandeur. In the final statement to Rurik, Andromeda asked him if he’d protect her, Trista, and their offspring with his life.

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He turned to Trista and took her other hand in his, peering as if into her soul with his heady turquoise gaze. “Always.” Trista swallowed at that. Never before had someone offered to risk anything for her, much less the most precious thing they had—their life. And somehow, in some deep recess in her brain, she knew the real man that she found in her real world would too. Then Andromeda turned to her and asked, “Will you have this man as your bondsmate?” She nodded gladly. “Yes.” Knowing that if she loved a man like Rurik, she would forfeit her life as well if need be. Andromeda nodded at Alaric and he brought the circlets out from his uniform. Rurik took the smaller one and, raising Trista’s left arm, slid the band up it, resting the flexible metal comfortably over her biceps. “This band is a symbol of my commitment to you. It will protect you wherever you go. Wear it always.” He held onto her left hand with his. “Now you do the same to him, telling him that this is a symbol of your commitment to him and whatever else you feel for him.” Trista took the armband from Alaric. Rurik rolled up his sleeve and Trista slipped it on. “This is a symbol of my commitment to you. And the beginning of my new life.” A warmth in Rurik’s eyes flickered, heating more than Trista’s sex. It made her heart soar. Then Andromeda turned to Alaric. Pressing her lips together and lifting her regal chin, she asked, “As the second man, would you like to test the woman?” Trista thought she saw a spark of what looked to be a mix of anger and disappointment flicker in Alaric’s blue eyes but then he straightened and said, “That will not be necessary.” Andromeda’s fragile shoulders seemed to relax and Trista thought it strange that the woman would react that way. Then she turned to Cedric. “And you, as the third man. Do you wish to test the woman?” Out of all the men, Cedric had ogled her the most. Now, he simply stood with his mouth agape. Rurik growled. Trista giggled as the boy tried to compose himself in reaction to Rurik’s displeasure. “Uh…” Cedric sputtered as he eyed her assets. Alaric elbowed him in the gut. Bent over and in pain, Cedric inhaled sharply and looked at Andromeda. “No, not at this time,” he struggled to speak. “Good.” Rurik’s mother bit off a smile as Jinn snickered in the back.

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After Ranulf and then Jinn agreed not to further “test” her, whatever that meant, Andromeda turned back to her. “In order for this to be official and in order for any offspring that the both of you have, or will have, to be recognized, you must consummate the relationship.” “We do?” Trista sputtered. “You didn’t tell her this yet?” Rurik bit out. His mother shrugged his irritation off. “I thought it best this way. She’ll be fine. I can tell.” She patted Rurik on the arm like a little boy. “But didn’t we already do the consummation thing?” Trista asked as the men and Jinn closed around her. “I mean, I specifically remember screwing this man in this bed.” She pointed to it and the men behind her either coughed or pretended to clear their throats to stop from laughing. Not that she cared. This was only a dream. “Course, I’m not averse to it. I think we’ve already proved that.” Because in actuality, she’d reached the limit of her patience. Be it the wine or whatever, she was ready to be alone with him and fuck his brains out. “Yes, but you must do this formally and with witnesses.” Andromeda pointed to the attendants as if to direct them. “Witnesses?” As one, the bonding men and Jinn picked her up, Ranulf and Jinn at her feet, Alaric and Cedric under her hips and arms. “Holy crap, I am getting weird,” Trista murmured as they set her on the bed and held her down, legs spread and arms outstretched halfway over her head. Andromeda stood at the end. “When this is over, the ceremony will be completed and you will be formally bonded.” “Man, never thought I was into this kind of stuff. Voyeurism and bondage?” Andromeda winced. “This signifies the ancient way of bride stealing and,” she cleared her throat, “what was generally done. Since virginity was too hard to prove, witnesses were needed to confirm that consummation took place.” Trista glanced at Rurik, wondering what he thought. He ran his hand through his shoulder-length blond hair then rubbed his temple as if in pain. “Rurik,” his mother said, “do your duty.” With a loud sigh, he walked over and, after shooting Alaric a disgusted look, he got into bed beside her. “I’m sorry about this.” His blue-green eyes peered into hers as he lay half on her, the muscles of his naked chest pressing against her torso, his hand stroking her hip through the fabric. “Close your eyes. It’ll be better that way.” “Why?” She smiled, knowing this was only some kinky thoughts coming out of her right now. “I like watching you fuck me.” Some of the men sputtered around them. Rurik squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the features in his handsome face as if the pain in his head took him. “Is your headache getting worse?”

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“No.” His voice grew throaty as he opened his eyes and peered into Trista’s face. Swallowing, he slid his hand to her mons and fingered her clit through the material. Like molten lava, she felt the sensual heat rise in her veins. It was as if the wine burned even hotter within her. The sensation of the cloth and the pressure of Rurik’s fingers made her so wet the honey from her vagina soaked through the fabric that covered her. “Oh God,” she moaned. She wanted to touch every inch of Rurik’s hard, sensual body. Rolling her shoulders and tugging them upward, she worked to free her arms but to no avail. Neither Alaric nor Cedric were letting go. She mewed her protest as Rurik bent his head to hers. “It’s all right. I will please you.” He kissed her lips. “I can smell you,” he whispered in a guttural voice, his face brushing her cheek. He licked the top of her ear with the tip of his tongue. “Your scent calls to me.” “I do need you,” she murmured, breathless. Glancing up, she saw Andromeda cover their lower bodies with the sheet before the woman looked away. Yet, the other men watched, an intensity and fierceness about their gaze. She glanced at Jinn. Rurik’s sister had looked up and studied the ceiling. Trista giggled and closed her eyes, wondering what the hell this all meant and why she had all of a sudden gotten really wild. Perhaps Alaric was right. Perhaps there was a kinkier part of her that begged to be freed. But she forgot all those reasons as the sheet fell over them and Rurik rained a slow trail of kisses down her neck to her collarbone. His touch absorbed her thoughts, and the presence of the others fell from her consciousness. “Rurik, where have you been in my life?” she whispered, releasing the pains of her past, oblivious to anything and anyone else but the man touching her. “I’m here now, my lady, and I will never leave you,” he murmured against her skin. Whether it was the drugs or the thought of needing this man, an unquenchable yearning for him built within her, driving the heat of her body. “Rurik, I want you. I have to have you inside me.” The sweetness of his touch, his dedication, brought tears to her eyes. He laved the exposed top of her breast. “I’m here for you,” he whispered. At her hip, she felt him bunch the fabric of her dress with his fingers. As the hem passed her knees, he slipped his hand underneath her shift, caressing the inner skin of her thigh. His fingers toyed with her flesh as he slid his hand to her mound. When the light touch of his fingers stroked her sex, her breath caught and her hips shot up against him. “Rurik…” she mewed, craving him inside her. His penis throbbed against her body, even through the silky fabric he wore. The head poked through a slit in the front of his pants. As Rurik’s breathing grew ragged, he held his body erect over hers. “I’m going to take you now.” Leaning on his elbow, he used his free hand to pull his dick from his pants then took the velvet tip and stroked her wet labia with his flesh.

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“Yes,” she whimpered, and lifted what she could of her hips to meet him, letting the top slide into her. Rurik growled and thrust into her, covering her with his large body. His strokes grew longer, faster, driving her higher. “Mmmm,” she cried, the nerve endings in her sex her only focus, wanting more of him. She moaned with each breath, her voice louder with every exhalation. The moisture of their bodies intermingled, stirring her until she couldn’t take any more. She exploded, her cry of satisfaction loud in her ears. After Rurik growled with his release, he collapsed on top of her. Lifting his head, he peered into her face. “You are mine now.” A corner of his rich mouth rose. She couldn’t help but smile. “God’s teeth, can I go jack off now?” Trista looked up and saw Cedric grabbing himself with his free hand. She’d been so into Rurik’s lovemaking she had forgotten the rest of them were there. Now the question begged, why had she even imagined them? Jinn chuckled. “Hey, at least these two got some exercise. I don’t think there’ll be any problem in the mating process.” Rurik’s mother tsked, as if scolding both of the younger members of the party. “Make the official report to Jut and you may go.” In the next moment, Trista felt the release of all the hands holding her. Cedric got to the image first. “I witnessed the bonding and consummation.” Then he ran out the door. Rurik pulled her shift down and, after adjusting his clothes, eased out from under the sheet and rose. Alaric slapped him on the back and took his hand. “Congratulations.” Rurik placed his hand on Alaric’s shoulder and shook the hand he held. “Someday I’ll witness your happiness as well, my friend.” He glanced back at Trista. “Preferably not in the same way, however.” Alaric laughed. “We shall see. For now, you have the woman you’ve always wanted.” Andromeda stepped to the bed and sat beside her. “How do you feel?” Trista rose up and rested her upper body on her elbows. “Fine. As fine as I’ve felt since I’ve been in this…” The door swished open as Ranulf and Jinn left. “Fantasy,” Trista finished. Andromeda turned back to her from looking at the door and released a sigh a relief. She glanced at Rurik. “We will leave you alone now.” Rurik grasped his mother’s bare arm and helped her up. “I noticed you’ve stopped wearing our father’s bonding circlet.” His brow furrowed. “Have you taken a lover?”

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Andromeda sputtered to keep from choking. “I…” she paused a moment, “have decided that you were right. It is time I stopped grieving.” “Good.” Rurik nodded. Beside him, Alaric’s mouth parted as if in surprise then he closed it and his eyes narrowed as he studied Rurik’s mother. Andromeda brushed Rurik’s cheek with her hand and smiled weakly then turned and left. Alaric cleared his throat. “Time for me to go as well.” He grasped Trista’s hand and kissed the back of it. “Many blessings to you both, my lady.” With that he reported to the droid and hurried out then the droid disappeared. “Well, that was weird.” Rurik nodded and smiled broadly at her. “Yes. It certainly was, however, it is something we can dwell on later. Right now, I have something else in mind for you.” Tossing off his jacket, he dropped his drawers and crawled into the bed with her. She giggled. “Good thing, because I want you to know, I’m not finished with you yet.” With that, he rolled up the hem of her shift and lifted it over her head, then removed the breast shields she wore and took her nipple in his mouth. “Oh,” she moaned, relishing the feel of him, knowing that now that she’d figured out what these images meant in regards to her life, she needed to get back to the real world and live it. But as Rurik inched his mouth lower against her torso, she whimpered with pleasure. Going lower, he blew his warm breath against her clit. “Reality can wait,” she murmured, and lifted her hips to meet his willing mouth. With the offering, Rurik groaned, and after licking her clit like a lollipop, thrust his tongue inside her. She whimpered with need and realized that never had the act of loving felt so sweet.

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Chapter Eight Alaric rushed into the corridor, hoping to catch Andromeda. Too late. Moving swiftly to the transporter, he ordered the computer to take him to the diplomat’s quarters where Rurik’s mother stayed. He closed his eyes, praying she hadn’t done what he thought she had. But the signs were clear. God’s teeth, the woman drove him mad. The transporter door slid open and he made haste to her room, then stopped in front of it, worried, wondering how to confront her over this new development of hers. Time to stop grieving, indeed. Squaring his shoulders, he prepared himself for the coming battle of words then stood in front of the personal door lock and requested entrance. The portal opened. Ranulf greeted him. Sweat beaded his brow. “By the ancestors, I didn’t think I would make it through, then with Cedric’s damn comments, that friggin’ pup.” The older man chuckled. What the…? Alaric wanted to beat the man to a pulp. Ranulf rambled on. “Being an Earther, do you think the Nyphosian drug made Rurik’s woman ditzy?” He chuckled. “To admit she liked getting fucked by the commander in front of everyone. ‘Course, doesn’t sound like she knew ahead of time what would happen.” He shook his head. “Where’s Andromeda?” Alaric snarled, and hoped to hell the two hadn’t coupled. “Andromeda?” Ranulf shook his head. “She isn’t here. I don’t know where she went.” “Damnation, Ranulf, you’re her guard. You should know where she went—and who she was with.” The man tensed. “I take orders, too, Alaric. I waited for her outside the commander’s door. She sent me off—like she often does with some people, you included. I didn’t ask questions. That’s not my place. Besides,” he relaxed against the doorjamb, “she’s safe enough on this vessel.” Alaric gritted his teeth. “My apologies.” He spun on his heel and marched off, not caring that with Ranulf’s dishevelment, Alaric had jumped to conclusions. Reaching the transporter, he slapped the console and ordered the computer to take him to his room. “Shatz,” he swore as bitter emotions swirled within him. Placing his palms against the wall, he bowed his head in defeat, the empty feeling in his chest eating his soul, threatening to overwhelm him. A lover. He fought the moisture forming in his eyes. God’s teeth, she took a lover. She would never have removed the bonding circlet otherwise. She’d been too dedicated to Ulrich, Rurik’s sire. 80

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Pissed, he pounded the wall with the bottom of his fist, resisting the urge to find her. Reaching his level, he stomped to his room and slapped the personal door lock to gain access. The door swished to the side. He marched in, uncaring for any other duties he had, then stopped. The scent. He sucked in a gulp of the perfumed air. Not alone. He struggled to gain control over his emotions. Turning, he looked toward the bed and grimaced. “Meda.” He exhaled the words through his clenched teeth. His best friend’s mother stood twisting her scarf, an anxious look in her reddened eyes. Andromeda licked her lips then looked away. “The computer let me in.” Her soft voice stroked him, sending blood shooting to his crotch. When she looked at him again, her violet eyes spoke as if imploring him, afraid. “I would never turn you away. You know that.” Alaric was scared to move. Afraid of what she would say. “I…” With her palms together, the scarf sandwiched in between, she pressed her delicate fingers to her lips then swerved, her back to him. Her shoulders shook. A small whimper came from her sweet lips. She lifted the scarf to dab her eyes. He went to her. He wanted to wrap his arms around her. But he couldn’t bend. Not this time. Not anymore. She had a damn lover. He grasped her arm and turned her around, causing her to drop the scarf, forcing her against the wall. “Why are you here?” he snarled. She pressed her moist lips together and glared at him with watery eyes. “Why did you stand in as second for my son?” His gaze narrowed. “I’m fertile. He’s my best friend and he asked. Why shouldn’t I?” She looked away. Moving closer, he took her wrists and slid them against the wall as he raised them over her head and held her there. “Give me a reason why I shouldn’t have.” Her pupils bore into his with unspoken longing. He swallowed. He couldn’t allow himself to soften. The pain was too much to endure. “That’s what I thought,” he sneered. “Did you find what you were looking for?” he whispered, letting the contempt he harbored come through. “Someone acceptable to warm your cold nights? God knows, they wouldn’t be able to warm your cold heart.” Rage simmered within him, the agony of losing her. “Tell me,” he hissed, peering into her face, “who your new lover is.” Her eyes widened. Tears tracked her cheeks. She pouted. Her bottom lip quivered as she lifted her chin, defiant. “I have no lover.” She pressed her lips together again and stared at him, beseeching him, for what? He knitted his brows, confused. Leaning closer, his mouth inches from hers, he studied her face. “Why, Meda? Why did you come?” 81

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“I…” She licked her lips once more. “Your mother was my friend. I knew you as a boy.” “I’m a man.” He stared into her eyes. “And I know what I want.” “You deserve better.” He touched his lips to her cheek, inhaled her scent. “Tell me you didn’t find ecstasy in my arms. Tell me you don’t want me.” “I don—” She stopped, pulling away to stare at him, the conflict forefront in her gaze. “You can’t,” he snapped. “You can’t because you know you are mine. I can smell the truth on you.” “Alaric,” she cried, “I’m so confused.” “Afraid of what people will say? What your fellow council members might think?” He tried but he couldn’t keep the venom from his voice. Her eyes flashed. “No. I don’t care about the council but I am too old to be fruitful. You are a very fertile man. You need someone who will bear you children.” “I don’t give a damn about that,” he uttered through clenched teeth as her fragrance, so seductive, so lush, prodded him. His resolve weakened. His cock gained a mind of its own. “Tell me you don’t want me and I’ll forget you.” Pain seeped through the haze in her eyes. “I don’t want to.” He couldn’t take any more. His hard cock pulsed, straining against the front of his pants. Pulling her arms down, he clenched her wrists behind the small of her back and set her hips tight against him. “Feel me, Meda.” Locking her wrists against her body with his forearms, he grasped her tight ass and lifted her so that his penis thrummed against her mons. “The man who claims you,” he growled low against her lips. Her eyes widened. She moaned her pleasure as he rubbed his rigid sex against her. Her response urged him on. He captured her mouth with his, plunging his tongue between her sweet lips, penetrating her, wanting to possess every ounce of her precious body, of her tender soul. His dick steeled against her, paining him with unconsummated lust. “I need you,” he whispered hoarsely. “Shatz, with everything that’s happened in the last hours, all I can think of is bedding you.” He outlined her lips with his tongue, trying to control his shaking. “Don’t deny yourself, Meda. I know you want me. Your scent gives you away.” She panted roughly against his lips, her body quivered in his arms as her essence permeated the air. “But Rurik…” “To hell with Rurik. He’s bonded and happy. Leave him be.” He glared at her. “I want you. Now. And by damn, I’m claiming you. For real. If you do not want this, Meda, then leave me now and never trouble me again, for I promise, the next time you tempt me, there will be no turning back.”

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She held her breath. Pain flitted across her beautiful face. “I can’t go, Alaric. I miss you too much. My…my body is tortured without you.” Her soft mouth parted and caressed his lips. “Shatz, woman, you make me crazy.” He dominated her mouth, latched on to her frame, pinning her arms, unwilling to let her go. She yielded to him completely. Slipping her hands free, she glided her palms around his hips and gripped the cheeks of his ass, locking him against her. “Alaric, the things I feel for you, I shouldn’t.” Tears streamed down her face. He eased his hands up her back to her tender shoulders then took her face in his palms. “Yes, you should.” He stroked her lips with his. “I love you, Meda. More than a friend or a lover. More than a bondsmate. I love you as my woman. My only one. The only one I want.” He peered into her pupils, knowing he had to do this by the book, knowing she would resist. He wouldn’t allow it, not anymore. “I claim you, Andromeda of Svendia, as my woman.” “No,” she protested, trying to tug herself away. He wouldn’t let her. “I claim you. You are mine. I expect satisfaction from you unless you can prove me unworthy to the council.” “Alaric, you don’t know what you’re saying.” Her heady scent blasted him. “I do.” He wrapped his arms around her, locking her against him. “Your body has already agreed. I can sense it as well as you. Prepare your mind, Meda. Now. For I will not be letting you go until I have completed what I am now entitled to.” He kissed her, inhaled the erotic undertones of her body’s perfume. “But you should have a child,” she mewed. “I can do that by other means.” Her warm breath teased the underside of his chin. “Yes, but that is not our way. Oh, Alaric, what am I to do?” He pulled back, locking her violet gaze with his. “Love me.” She pressed her tender lips together and swallowed. “I do.” Her admission was all he needed. Lifting her in his arms, Alaric strode to the bed. Laying her against the silken coverlet, he knelt over her. “From this point on you will be mine. And I will die to protect you.” “But…” He put a finger against her lips. “There is no turning back, Meda. Not now.” He kissed her before she could issue further protest and lay beside her to palm her breast. Running his hand along her side, he stroked her hip as he placed soft pecks along her velvety neck and across her collarbone. Grasping the sheer overcloth she’d donned, he tugged the fabric, raising it to her hip. “Alaric?” “Yes, Beloved.”

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“I want you.” “I know.” He slid her girdle off and tossed it aside then fingered her wet labia. “Alaric,” she moaned as her eyes closed, wanting more. “Patience, my lady. And you will have all you desire.” Easing over her, he pushed himself up and settled his legs between her knees. Running his hands under her sweet ass, he squeezed her firm cheeks then grabbed the hem of the shift and pushed it upward underneath her, using his fingers to stroke her skin as he moved. When he neared her breasts, he skimmed her sides with his fingers. Reaching the breast shields, he thumbed them off and slid his fingers against her ribs, catching her bosoms underneath and rubbing his palms over her fleshy mounds, lightly squeezing until her nipples peaked. With his forefinger, he flicked each one then took first one then the other in his mouth, teasing the tip with his teeth and laving her flesh with his tongue. Her eyes fluttered open. Her pupils dilated with desire. She lifted her arms and with one last effort, he grasped the garment and eased it over her head, tossing it to the floor. Leaning back on his heels, he stared at her a moment, memorizing every nuance of her, the long, dark hair that framed her head and upper body, the small lines on her expressive face, the softness of her breast, the curve of her hip, the dark pink tinge of her sex. His rod quivered in appreciation. Conscious of his attention, she reached to cover her womanly assets. “Don’t.” He grasped her hands and pulled them to him, kissing the back of her fingers on each one. She tugged her bottom lip with her teeth. “I’m aging. You see the signs. Why do you want one such as me?” “You are beautiful, Meda.” He placed his hands on either side of her head. Steadying himself, he hovered over her then leaned in and kissed her. “I love you. There is nothing else.” He softly pried her mouth open with his tongue and used his teeth to tease the lip she’d bit upon. She sobbed with pleasure. “Alaric, I do so love you. If only I were younger and could fulfill your needs.” Slowly, he lay on top of her and cradled her against him. “You meet every need I have. Say nothing more as there is nothing you can say to stop me.” Her eyes teared. “Oh, Alaric.” She brushed his cheek with her fingers. “Nothing.” He covered her mouth with his, penetrated her soft flesh, relishing the taste of her sweetness. Placing light touches of his lips against her skin, he eased his body lower against hers and traveled again to her breasts, moving from one to the other, licking the tips. The ragged intake of her breaths urged him, made him rock-hard with need. Still he refused to release himself until he knew she’d found satisfaction.

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Lying to one side, he layered light kisses down her ribs as he caressed the skin of her waist, moving farther downward. “Ah,” she moaned and grasped his head, running her fingers through his hair, her scent heady, rich. He fingered her wet clit, pinched the inner lips of her sex. Her hips shot up. He took her nub in his mouth and grasped her rear cheeks. “By the—” she panted, pressed her hips against his mouth as he held her flesh between his teeth and laved the bud of her sex, sucking, licking, causing the carnal responses of her body to deepen, her canal to grow wetter, her honey to trickle out of her and drip down. Squeezing her ass, he licked her again, his mouth covering the droplets on her labia and sucking, his tongue outlining her nether lips, savoring her rich taste. She quivered. Her moans drove him, made his stiff dick ache for release. He plunged his tongue into her channel, lapping her, tasting her, relishing the rapture that she was his. “Alaric!” Her desperate cry ignited him. She was ready. Straightening, he yanked off his top. When he wrenched down his pants, his dick sprung out, the tip wavering, the blood pulsing within, demanding satisfaction. When Meda spied this, the enticing edge on her smile stirred the primal male instincts in him, the need to mate, the need to penetrate this woman. Yet he wanted to please her first. He rested a hand against the bed over Meda’s shoulder and balanced himself. Taking his cock in his hand, he stroked the tip across the bottom of her wet labia to the top of her clit and down, letting only the head slide in and out of her with each pass. The silky wetness of her warm cunt coated him more as he eased his penis deeper, teasing her flesh, forcing her to see no other option than to have him and him alone. “Mmmmm, oh…” Her ragged pants grew louder. “I…want to…taste you.” Her breathy voice beat out the words. Pre-cum formed on his tip at the thought. He stroked faster, rousing her nub, causing her cream to flow over him. His mind envisioned her again, taking him into her mouth, sucking, pressing his rigid cock with her warm tongue, the feel of his semen mixing with the wetness of her mouth, swirling around his penis as she sucked his emission down. He wanted her taste, yearned for it. Yet a warning sounded in his mind. Meda was a stickler for proper execution of the rituals. He would not give her an excuse to back out. He felt sweat bead on his skin. His cock pained for release yet he steeled himself from the temptation of her mouth because the other thing that he wanted was so much more. “Tell me you want me, Andromeda of Svendia.”

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“I…” Knowing this was the final step in the claiming ritual, her violet eyes narrowed with fright, yet her fervor burned so strong she could hardly speak. He teased her again with his cock, bent over and took her nipple between his teeth and gently grazed her skin. She gasped, her hips thrust over his sex, the presence of his hand the only thing that kept her from burying his cock in her pussy completely. “Tell me you’ll have me, Andromeda. Say it,” he uttered through gritted teeth, fighting to keep his cum until she pledged to him. She pressed her lips together then her mouth parted. “I will have you, Alaric of the Svendian outpost of Mark, as…my bondsmate,” she said between pants. He grinned like a boy being offered his first piece of pussy. “Then I will take you now.” He could barely voice the words before he plumbed the depths of her sweet body. She cried out and lifted her hips, grasping her breasts in the process, squeezing the tips of her nipples. He groaned. The erotic view of her touching herself heightened his pleasure. Grinding against her clit, he plunged into her, and thrust again—faster, harder, with each pass. Her pants grew heavier, more ragged. She writhed against him and whimpered, quietly at first then louder, her head thrashing from side to side. He pressed against her, firmer, softer, changing the speed to drive her wild, the pleasure of her erotic throes making him last. She grasped for him, for any part of him. Settling a firm grip on his biceps, she released herself to the passion, screaming with the apex of her carnal desires as her vaginal walls clenched around his sex. Nothing could have satisfied Alaric more. Pounding into her, he bellowed as he released himself and felt his seed spew into her. His breaths rough, he gazed at her beautiful face. She smiled, a haunting sadness framing her lips. “You are stuck with me now.” His smile broadened. She fingered one of his dimples. “I will have you because I know now I cannot live without you,” she said. He covered her body with his and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, holding her naked skin against him. “I’m glad you have come to see things my way.” She sputtered. “You are an arrogant man, my bondsmate.” He chuckled then pressed his lips to hers. “It isn’t arrogance if you can back it up.” “Oooh.” She slapped his chest. Grasping her to him, he rolled with her and set her on top. “Now, let’s try this again, shall we, my woman.” The lascivious gleam in her eyes told him all he needed to know. “I love you, Meda, and I always will.” 86

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Tears filled her eyes. “I love you too, Alaric. With all my heart.” She bent over and kissed him then slid down his body. When she sucked his cock into her mouth, he knew he’d found the only ecstasy he cared to claim.

***** Trista awoke loosely cradled in Rurik’s arms with her rear snug against his hips. They had made love. She didn’t remember how many times. Yet each time felt like the first. Finally exhaustion took both of them and they fell asleep. She winced. A small headache pounded her brain. Must be the drug that Andromeda gave her. Woo. She didn’t know if she could handle it again, but damn, it would be worth a try. She looked over her shoulder and stared at the man whose arms she lay in, wondering if he was real, if maybe he was some intern or orderly who had gone way out of line with her. But he looked so beautiful. And made love so sweetly, so passionately. Scoffing, she realized it must be her imagination again. What young, good-looking man would want a middle-aged woman like her? Especially one who wasn’t all there at the moment. Rurik sighed and, without opening his eyes, turned her and pulled her into him, resting her head against his shoulder. His muscular arms cradled her breast against his sculpted chest. “How do you feel?” he murmured against her temple. She kissed the underside of his chin in response. He peered down at her then took her mouth with his as if taking a long draught of water. Warmth encompassed her. Safety. She had never felt these things with a man before. “I feel fine.” She slid a leg between his knees and felt a twinge in her crotch. “A little sore maybe but I can tell you it was worth it.” The tenderness in his smile made her breath catch and she knew she could love someone like this vision. “Would you like to shower?” He kissed her cheek then her mouth. She giggled. “Do I smell that bad?” The corner of his rich lips rose. “Never to me. Your scent is how I found you.” She swallowed, knowing that somehow she had to get back to reality. “One last time,” she said sadly. A strange look crossed Rurik’s face but it passed so fast she couldn’t register what it meant. Rising, Rurik lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bath. After ordering the settings from the computer, Rurik stepped with her into the flowing water. He held her under the spray, the jets buffeting her nipples. “Mmmm.” She would miss Rurik. A hunky man who was able to hold her weight for this long was definitely worth having. Pulling her chest to his face, he took her nipple in his mouth, vacillating between grazing his teeth across the tip and licking the nub.

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Squeezing her arms against the sides of her breasts to make them peak, she moaned her pleasure then caressed his powerfully built back. He suckled harder, longer. She ran her hand upward against his shoulder and wove her fingers through his golden hair, holding his head against her flesh as he worked his magic. “Rurik, you feel so wonderful.” She bent her head to his, wanting to satisfy her urge to rain kisses on his crown. In response, Rurik sucked her nipple and pulled up on it. The pressure tantalized her, made her want more. “Oh God.” She tasted him, kissed his head wherever she could reach, trying to bring his mouth to hers. He understood. Sliding her down his body, he settled her crotch against his burgeoning penis and blazed a path of kisses from her shoulder to her neck, then, touching his parted mouth to hers, he took her lips and laved them, sucked them and pressed his full mouth against hers, deepening the kiss, taking her breath away. “Finally, you are mine,” he said, his voice a whisper, as if he talked to himself. “I have waited so long.” She moaned as she caressed his chest, loving the feel of him, wondering why, in her dream world, she would have made him wait. When her mouth parted, he thrust the tip of his tongue inside, stroking her, pressing her lips between his. The sensation stirred her. Sexual tension swelled within her core. “Rurik, you make me drunk with passion.” Her voice grew heady with lust. “I think I’m addicted to you. That’s why I can’t seem to wake up and let you go.” He pulled away. His blue-green eyes narrowed, studying her. “If it means losing you, then I never want you to wake.” “But that wouldn’t be fair, or right.” Guilt finally stabbed its ugly hooks into her. She laved his chest and closed her eyes, wanting to remember every part of him. “I will miss you, Rurik, my conqueror, but I have responsibilities. Hunter and Mercedes will be worried about me. I have to go back to them. I love them and they still need me.” Rurik inhaled sharply then rested his forehead against the crown of her hair, pulling her cheek to his chest. “Trista, what if I told you this was real? That I would find your children for you?” “Pffff,” she sputtered but a tear tracked down her cheek. “I wish. I wish a man like you was alive. One I could share my life with. But you aren’t.” “I am. Blood pulses through my veins as well as yours.” He kissed her hair then took her hands in his and placed them against his chest, holding them there. “Feel me, Trista.” Sorrow bordered the edges of his eyes. “Feel this,” he insisted, sliding her hand down his torso and folding her fingers over his hard penis. “I am real. And you are my bondsmate.” She narrowed her gaze as she looked at him, questioning. “But you can’t be. I mean…” She tried to back away but his arms encircled her and held her against him.

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Bending to her, he kissed her softly. “What do I need to do to prove it to you, Trista now of Svendia, as it is time this issue is resolved before it causes you any more misery.” The little voice inside her that had questioned her weird state for so long leapt to the forefront, wanting to squash her sanity once and for all. It was as if she was two people and the insane one was winning, wagging its finger at her reasonable self and saying, “I told you so.” She shook her head with a jerk. Once. Twice. Then glanced at Rurik. He was still there. And he looked worried. She gazed at his chest. Running her fingers over it, she felt the small hairs that crowned his pecs. Heaven, he felt real. She looked away. “This can’t be. My kids…” “Come.” He ordered the shower to stop. Lifting her, he carried her to the side of the bed, letting the water from their bodies drip onto the floor. “I will prove this to you. Somehow, you have to believe me.” He ordered the computer to dry them. The light in the room grew hotter and somehow warmed air blew against their bodies. The sensation ignited her sex drive again, but Trista forced it down. She had to get away from Rurik to dispel these illusions. He set her on her feet and held her arm as he mussed the bed cover and found one of the breast shields. Determined now, she tried to pull away, struggling with him, but he wouldn’t release her. “Let me alone. I need to get out of here.” He ignored the breast shield and yanked her to him. When she slammed into his chest, he locked his arm around her and held her there. “You can’t. We’re on a space vessel and there is no way for you to leave. Especially with the Vulgarians prowling around. It isn’t safe.” He inhaled roughly then his eyes narrowed. “I can see now that your believing in me is even more imperative. I don’t want you doing anything rash.” “Rash? What do you mean rash? I am not a rash person. I’m very logical, thank you, which is why I know this is some drug-induced hallucination.” She jerked her chin up, pissed. “Dammit, you must be an orderly or something fucking around with me. What the hell did you give me?” She shoved against his flexing, very real-feeling chest but he didn’t budge. He growled. “You’re coming with me.” Grasping her wrist, he pulled her behind him as he picked up her fallen shift from the floor. “And that’s another thing.” She struggled to free herself but his grip was like steel. “These clothes. I mean, get real,” she spoke through gritted teeth. “Who would wear something this slut-like unless they were picking some guy up? I mean, really.” He tossed the sheer cloth on the bed. “It’s considered an honor in our society. Every woman who is a breeder wears such to signify their status.” “A breeder?” She huffed and pulled again. “That sounds demeaning.”

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Rurik picked up the other breast shield from the floor and slapped it to her bosom. “It isn’t to us.” He pulled her to him, causing her to lose her balance and fall into his broad chest. “Umph.” The impact knocked her breath out. “And you are a Svendian now, whether you like it or not.” “Hey.” She straightened and ran her hand over the shield. It didn’t move. She was amazed the thing stayed in place without some glue. “I wondered how that worked. You just slap it on like that?” She gaped as she looked up at him, awed. He looked at the ceiling a moment then at her. “Yes.” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Wow.” She cocked her head to look closer at it, impressed. Then she glared at him, remembering they were fighting. “And you say this isn’t a dream? I mean, who ever heard of something like that? A flexible metal thingy that you slap on.” She whacked her covered breast. “Ow.” She flinched then massaged her breast to take the sting away. “Heck, that felt real.” He grimaced. “It’s Maloran. They are gifted fabric makers. These were made specifically for you so they fit you and will not fail.” Bending over, he picked up the other one and placed it gently on her naked breast, molding his hand around the shield and her flesh as he did so. Her breath hitched. Whether she was angry at him or not, his touch made lust burn in her veins. Stepping to her, he held her in his arms. “Trista, I implore you, please try to be reasonable.” “Reasonable?” He put his finger over her lips before she could argue. He swallowed again. “I know this has been hard on you, being wounded and shuttled to a place and people you’ve never been aware of, but you must know—you and I have been having sexual intercourse for years. I have often gone to Earth searching for you because I knew you were the woman for me. This is why you remember me. I am not some fantasy.” He pressed his lips together. “Truth be told, I am the real father of your son.” “Hunter?” He nodded. She stared at him, studying. No wonder he looked familiar. “Holy shit, I really am sick.” “What?” He felt her forehead. “I’ll call Alaric.” “No.” She shook her head. “I mean I’m depraved. How could I think of having sex with a man who looks like my son? That’s disgusting.” He groaned and rolled his eyes. “Trista.” He grasped her arms and shook her. “I am not a dream. You remember me from the past.” “Well, that’s just…silly.” He frowned. “When was the first time you dreamed of me?”

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“When?” She looked away to think then snapped her head back to look in his face. “I was a teenager.” He grinned. “Yes, and you were bathing naked in a pond at night.” She gasped. “How did you…?” He sat her on the bed. “But?” She closed her eyes. Bending over, she rested her elbows on her knees and rubbed her temple. “This is the weirdest dream.” She choked. “I have got to get my mind back.” “Come, I’ll help you but you must dress first.” Rurik lifted the shift off the bed and, gathering the ends together, put it over her head. She threaded her arms through and pulled it down her torso as Rurik grabbed his silk pants off the floor and shoved them on. “Come.” He held his hand to her. Shaking, she placed her palm in his. He squeezed her hand once as if to reassure her then pulled her up. The hem of the shift fell to the floor. Grasping her like a child, Rurik picked her up and cradled her then marched with her out the door. “Where are we going?” she asked as she looped her arm around his neck, worried, not understanding at all what went on around her, glad Rurik held onto her because he was the only thing that seemed to steady her world. Why would she want herself this confused and afraid? Rurik walked with her into the transporter. “Computer, where’s the boy?” “In the brig, oh Great One.” His lips thinned. “Take me there,” he growled then mumbled, “I need to get this damn transporter fixed.” In moments, Rurik stood with her in his arms on a floor she hadn’t envisioned before. Moving quickly, he strode to a door and demanded entrance. When the door whooshed open, an unknown man greeted them. “Commander,” he addressed Rurik then looked at her. “My lady.” He nodded his head in the same manner that Rurik and Alaric had met Andromeda. Which really weirded Trista out. “I understand Jinn left him here,” Rurik asked the man, then cut his eyes briefly at Trista. “Yes, sir. It was the safest place during the attack. Only she hasn’t come back to get him yet.” “She…” He paused, pressing his lips together. “Dammit, Olav, find her.” Looking at Trista, he pasted a smile on his face, as if trying to dispel his obvious irritation, then glared back at the poor man. “Move aside.”

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The man rushed to get out of his way. Rurik walked into the darker room. A broadshouldered guy in an American soldier’s garb lay on a bed inside an iridescent seethrough wall made of lights. An eerie feeling gripped her. When Rurik stepped closer, the man shot up and came toward them. “Hunter?” Trista stared at him. It couldn’t be. Her son? Rurik eased her down. Hunter stared at her, aghast. “Mom?” He glared at her as he scanned her body. “What the hell?” Raising his hands, he stepped closer to the shimmering wall. “Don’t,” Rurik warned, but Hunter touched the light before Rurik could finish. “Damn.” Her son jumped back, clenching his hands. “Fuck, I keep forgetting. That thing stings like a son of a bitch.” “Olav, turn the damn thing off,” Rurik commanded. “I can’t believe Jinn left him in here,” he muttered. The light-divider thingy cleared. She stared at her son as he stepped toward her. “Mom?” He looked worried. “Hunter…” She felt her knees sway underneath her. “Hunter, your language…” Her feet gave way. She felt Rurik’s strong arms come around her and hold her fast as Hunter reached for her. The last thing she heard was Hunter hollering, “You bastard, you fucked her again, didn’t you?” Then all went black.

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Chapter Nine “Her blood sugar’s low.” That was Alaric. Trista felt the cold hardness of the floor at her back as her mind came awake but she kept her eyes closed, unsure of what she would see. “With all your activity, have you fed her anything else?” Trista wanted to chuckle at the thick sarcasm in the healer’s voice, but until she settled things in her brain, she was afraid to move. “No,” Rurik spat out, and she heard her warrior release a tortured sigh, a little farther away. “Great, so besides screwing the hell out of her, you’re also starving her to death.” Hunter? Yes, Hunter was there. Close to her on the other side of her from Rurik and the healer. “I didn’t think children would be so difficult,” she heard Rurik mumble. A woman giggled. Andromeda. “Of course they are. Anything worth having isn’t easy. Still, they are worth the effort. Look how well you turned out.” “So tell me…” Hunter was pissed, Trista could tell. “How many times have you been down to Earth to fuck her—Dad.” “Hunter,” Rurik’s mother said, “you must understand. Rurik mated with her because…because he didn’t have much choice. We’re driven by nature in this. You will be too, I’m sure. At least to some extent. I know you’re upset, however your parents are bonded now. It’s our form of your marriage.” She sighed. “I don’t know how we’re going to do this, we’re setting new ground, but somehow we’ve got to get you an education and some training. You have responsibilities now. I know you can flourish in our society.” “I’m not leaving my sister down there.” “I’m not either, dammit,” Rurik shouted. “That’s why I have a team looking for her. Jinn included. Your aunt is the best there is at finding someone.” “Or avoiding someone,” Alaric added in a low voice. But Hunter’s anger was focused. “One person isn’t enough. Send more. I told you where to go.” Mercedes. Trista had been gone a long time. Mercedes would be looking for her. “Mother, Jinn better be on the planet or there will be hell to pay,” Rurik threatened. Rurik’s sister was going to get Mercedes. What would her daughter think? Would Mercedes have as hard a time believing any of this as she had?

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“Well of course she’s there. Jinn is good to her word, you know that. I was the one who was supposed to settle Hunter in but I got…” she paused, “sidetracked.” “Blast it,” Rurik cursed. Trista flinched as the pain in her head sharpened. “Mom?” Trista moaned, knowing she’d been found out. She lifted her hand to rub her temple. “Mom.” Hunter’s voice. He slid his arms around her and lifted her shoulders. “Are you all right?” “Hunter.” Trista sounded hoarse. “Are you real?” He didn’t say anything for a moment. Trista could feel the heated anger coming from him. “Yes.” She sighed, not sure if she was relieved or not. “Are you going to open your eyes?” her son implored. She gulped, tempted to crack one eye open to peer at him. Instead, she squeezed her lids tighter together. “First…” She took a deep breath. “Tell me where we are and who the people are with you.” He paused again. “We’re on the Punisher, a spaceship.” “Oh God,” she groaned, the ache in her head getting worse. Hunter snarled. “It belongs to Rurik ‘the Conqueror’, a man who looks so damn much like me I can’t deny he’s my real father. I think you met the others but apparently ‘the Conqueror’ is now your new husband. You just got married and for some reason your only son wasn’t invited to the ceremony.” “You wouldn’t have appreciated it,” Rurik spat. “Hunter,” Andromeda chided, “what’s done is done. And stop using your father’s title like that. I told you that he didn’t ask for the Conqueror surname. It was bestowed on him by the council. That official designation is the only reason he uses it when he has to formally introduce himself.” Hunter steamed. “He shouldn’t have to formally introduce himself to his own son.” Pain lanced through Trista’s head. She couldn’t deny the truth any longer. Rurik was Hunter’s father and she, “Trista now of Svendia”, was bonded to him, whatever that meant. Thing was, Rurik was someone totally unknown to her, at least in the real world, or worlds, or wherever the hell she was. Squinting, she slowly opened her eyes and studied her surroundings with a new perspective. Hunter kneeled to her right, looking down on her, worry reflected in his young face. “I’m glad you’re safe at home,” she flinched, “sort of.” She wanted to hug him but she was a little lightheaded. He took her hand and squeezed. “I’m here, Mom. I’m fine.” 94

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Ignoring the one man that, at the moment, scared her the most, she glanced at the others. On her left, Alaric hovered over her, holding that small machine he used that resembled some kid’s gaming device. He smiled at her. “I think you’ll be all right. I’ve given you something to boost you up for a while. At least until we can get you eating regularly.” “Oh good,” Trista said halfheartedly. She glanced at her feet. A little rumpled, Andromeda stood there and stared at Trista, her hands folded and pressed against her lips as if in prayer. Wincing, Trista steeled herself, afraid to face the real man she’d been bedding for so long, knowing the things she’d said and done had been done for real, not dreamed about—and to a total stranger. She closed her eyes a moment then swallowed. “Rurik?” she uttered in a small voice then looked at him. Alaric stood and moved away as Rurik crouched beside her. “Yes, Beloved.” He cradled her other hand between his. Hunter snorted and released her, gently lowering her to the floor again. Rurik glared at their son a moment. When he looked back at Trista, his brow relaxed and he peered at her with those penetrating blue-green eyes. “You married me?” she asked. “Yes, we bonded.” She felt the press of the circlet on her arm. She fingered the one on his. The events of the ceremony filtered through her brain. Her eyes popped open with the realization of what had happened and she struggled to sit up. Rurik grasped the back of her shoulders and pulled her to him. She looked at him, stunned. “You fucked me in front of five people—three of them men!” she squealed. “And you were there, and you.” She pointed first to Alaric and then Andromeda. Rurik shut his eyes and grimaced. “You—did—what?” Hunter thundered, his voice louder with each syllable. His body tense, Hunter fisted his hands at his sides as he rose. Lifting Trista in his arms, Rurik shot up. “It was part of the ceremony. It isn’t what I wanted.” “Bullshit. You son of a bitch.” Andromeda got between them and lifted her palms as if she could hold them off. “Boys.” “Andromeda.” Alaric grasped her to hold her back. “Stay out of this. This is between the two of them.” “But they’re my family,” she protested.

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“No,” the healer whispered as Rurik set Trista down behind him. Trista moved to go to Hunter but Rurik held her back with his arm. “It’s bad enough you have no respect for me but you do not talk about your mother and your grandmother like that,” Rurik ordered. Andromeda teared. “Stop.” She looked at Hunter from Alaric’s grasp. “Grandson,” she sniffed, “if I understand your Earth patois properly then you do not think very highly of me.” Hunter stuttered. “No. I mean. Oh hell, I…I didn’t mean anything about you. Honest. It’s only an expression. It doesn’t mean anything, not about you anyway. I promise.” He crossed a finger over his heart then held up his palm, as if making a pledge to her. “Shit.” He ran a hand through his blond hair. “Now look what you made me do.” He glared at his father. “Me?” Rurik pointed to his own chest. Andromeda lifted her chin. “That’s enough. I will not have you two fighting. Especially in front of your mother, Hunter. She’s recovering. And for your information, so we don’t mistake each other again, your sire’s father and I were properly bonded.” Her petite voice wavered. “Sire?” Hunter’s brow arched with humor. Then he glared at Rurik. “I guess that sounds about right. He’s never been a father, that’s for friggin’ sure.” Then Hunter’s head swerved toward Andromeda. “Did you fuck in front of five people too?” “Hunter,” Trista scolded as Andromeda sputtered. “It was not required of us,” Andromeda said calmly. “Unfortunately, for your father, it was.” Anger burned in his face. “Then why for my mother?” Andromeda sighed. “It’s hard to explain but it was necessary.” “Hell. They already have a child, at least one.” Anger burned in Hunter’s face. “For an advanced race, you people have some really fucked ideas.” Swerving, Hunter turned his back to them. His body shook. “Hunter?” Trista looked at him around Rurik’s large body. She wanted to go to him but Rurik held her back. The boy spread his arms and leaned against the wall as if in defeat. “Mom, all I’ve ever wanted to do is protect you.” Trista watched Rurik’s face change. As the anger in Rurik fled, sadness crept over him. “Hunter,” Rurik choked, “you’re not the only one who has failed in that.” Leaving her, he stepped to their son and placed his hand on his shoulder, whispering, “I should have been there and I wasn’t. This is my fault. I…I want to make up for it but I need your help.” Hunter eyed him over his shoulder. “I don’t understand what help I could give you. You seem to have everything. Even my mother.”

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Rurik shook his head. “I don’t have everything. I want you and your mother in my life. And your sister when we find her. Whether she is mine as well or not, I will be a father to both of you. At least, as much as you’ll let me.” Hunter straightened. Instead of glaring at him, he studied Rurik. “Find Mercedes. Then we’ll see.” Rurik nodded. “I’ll find her.” A sudden boom sounded. Hunter tackled Trista and ducked, covering her with his body. “Dammit,” her son muttered then studied Trista. “Sorry, Mom. Standard reaction from where I’ve been. Are you all right?” “Yes.” Rurik grasped Hunter’s arm and yanked him up. “Come, son. It’s time you saw what your father does.” “But his shoulder,” Alaric protested. “I haven’t fixed it yet.” “Later,” Hunter yelled as another explosion rocketed them. “Commander,” a female voice permeated the air, “the Council vessel has been hit. Their engine is gone. Three dead. Five wounded.” “I’m on it.” Alaric bolted out the door after a passing look to Andromeda. “Damnation,” Rurik roared. “Rurik, your language,” Andromeda scolded. “We’re in a war, Mother. Olav, secure the women.” “Yes, sir.” “You still get grief from Nana?” Hunter queried with a quirky smile on his face. Rurik smirked and marched to the door. Hunter only laughed at his father as he followed him out. “Nana?” Andromeda arched a delicate brow as the door shut and settled her fists on her hips, staring at the portal. “It’s a term of endearment, Andromeda,” offered Trista. The woman arched an aristocratic brow. “I think with everything that’s happened you had best call me mother.” “Sure thing. Mom.” With a sarcastic smirk, Trista looped her arm over the woman’s shoulder, wondering. Now that she knew this was real, what had she gotten herself and the kids into?

***** The cool ocean water tantalized Mercedes’ naked skin. An early morning mist had rolled in. With the water fairly placid, she took advantage of the predawn to indulge in her favorite pastime—skinny-dipping.

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She took another stroke then rolled on her back with her arms outstretched and legs parted to float. The waves lapped against her sex. A cool breeze blew over her nipples. The bracing wind chilled her tips and made them peak. “Mmmm.” She loved the feel. Nice. She imagined two hunky men, one blowing on her breasts and the other licking her labia. “Yum.” That was the nice thing about nature. It would start her sex drive going. Needing more, something firmer, she bent her arms and slid her hands over her breasts. Gripping her peaking nubs, she twisted and pulled on them, relishing the erotic sensations shooting through her, and the invisible connection to her clit. “Geez.” The nerve endings in her clitoris tingled. She squeezed her legs together and moaned. “Oh man.” Her breathing deepened as she pushed the back of her head into the water. It’d been a while since she’d been thoroughly laid. She could really use a release. Reaching for her crotch, she fingered herself. Tickled her clit with her middle finger then rubbed it harder. A stronger current brushed water over her. “Ummmm.” She plunged a middle finger inside and stroked, pulling it totally out every so often to rub and pinch her nub. Someday, she thought, she would get more talented and be able to do both at the same time. Meanwhile, she didn’t want to ignore her breasts and kept her other hand moving from one mound to the other, entertaining them. If only there was some technology that would do all of this at the same time. Something with the real feel of skin. That way I wouldn’t have to worry about the male species. Needing more, she swam to shore, to the little cove of boulders and trees she had discovered by accident some time ago. The place was a haven for her indulgence. Stepping up on the beach, she grabbed her towel and dried herself, taking the time to stroke the more erotic parts of her skin. A stronger breeze blew against her. She dropped the towel. Opening her arms and spreading her legs, she welcomed it. “Hmmm.” Reaching down, she fingered her labia and spread the lips open to catch the undulating wind against her sex. When the air lessened, she took her towel and spread it over the sand. Oh did she want some sex—even if it was just herself. She looked to the east. The deep blue of the sky told her she had some time. Hardly anyone else got up this early. She needed the treat. Shaking out any sand and bunching the corner of the towel, she got on her hands and knees. Spreading her nether lips, she rested her clit on the lump she’d made of the cloth and gyrated her hips, grinding the nub of her sex against the fabric with just enough pressure to get her off. Her breasts hung down as she pushed her torso up. Naked and alone, she studied the globes as she rested her body on her elbows. She thought they looked lonely so she imagined a man lying underneath her. Closing her eyes, she fingered her nipples, squeezing and tugging them with fervor. 98

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A hunger for carnal ecstasy spiraled in her. She panted, craving an orgasm. Finally, she erupted. Rubbing her clit against the cloth a few more times, she collapsed against the towel, knowing the respite was only temporary, for as nice as the last few moments were, she yearned for more. She wanted a man’s hard penis—skin-to-skin—inside her. “If you’d asked, I could have helped with that.” Mercedes gasped. Her eyes flew open. Two black boots rested in front of her face. She grabbed the towel and jumped up, scrambling away from him. “You son of a bitch. You just sat there and watched me? You know there is such a thing as giving someone some privacy. At least you could have coughed or something and told me you were there.” She felt the blush creep into her skin. The smug grin against his swarthy face denied her claim. “I came to find you.” He shrugged his massive shoulders. With a flick of his head, he tossed the ends of the long black hair that brushed his neck, over his shoulders. “You were well on your way when I, ah,” he snapped his fingers in the air, “popped in. You were enjoying yourself. Literally. Why should I interfere?” “You…” She glanced around. There had been no one there before. She’d looked. Where could he have come from? She backed up as he stepped to her, scanning her body with his ice-blue eyes. “What do you want?” Her instinct told her this guy was trouble. He lunged for her but she was ready. Evading his grasp, she whipped the towel around like a toreador and threw it over his head as he spun by her. Jumping on his back, she clamped her arms around his and tried to kick his knees to make him fall, but he moved too fast. Thrusting his hips back into her, he threw her forward, head over heels. She moaned as she landed with a thump on her back. The man’s hard body had left no compromise. He took two steps to reach her. Crouching by her head, he smirked. “You won’t get away, trust me, so make it easy on yourself, okay?” His black brow arched, his eyes gazed at her with longing. “What do you want from me?” she whispered. He smiled and grabbed her under the arms. Picking her naked body up, he turned her around and tossed her over his shoulder. “Hey.” She struggled as she protested, twisting her hips. “You aren’t taking me anywhere, buddy.” “I beg to differ,” he mocked. A zap shocked her butt, then he let her body slide down into his waiting arms. He held her up like a child. She tried to push against his chest but she’d grown weak and could only feel the beating of his heart against her palm. She heard the man say something about being ready to go back to the ship. Fear gripped her but she couldn’t move. Suddenly her world spun and she blacked out.

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Cassius carried the limp woman close to him as he left the teleporter beam, liking the way her helpless, naked body felt against him. Craddock met him on the dock. “You found her.” “Of course,” Cassius smirked. “When have I ever failed to retrieve my prey?” Headmaster Craddock huffed. “You are the best, Cassius, I grant you that. Now,” he ran a finger down her cheek and eyed the rest of her, “what to do with her. I can smell her fertility. She must be in her ovulation phase.” He looked at Cassius. “Hide her in your room. I don’t want the men fighting over her.” “Do you want me to clothe her?” Craddock snorted. “Why bother?” Turning, he left. Cassius glanced at the woman in his arms, a small part of him sorry for her. When Craddock made up his mind about something, he was unbendable. And Cassius was afraid the headmaster had already decided what to do with her.

***** Per Rurik’s mother, the commander’s quarters was one of the safest places on the ship. Andromeda insisted Olav take them there. After ensuring Trista had buckled herself in a chair by the console, Olav hurried out the door, muttering words that said he had no time during an attack to babysit two women. But Rurik’s mother never strapped herself down. Instead, she used the computer to log their location then showed Trista how to get a food bar of some kind and made her eat. When Andromeda satisfied herself Trista was settled, her new mother-in-law took off, saying she wanted to help in sick bay, reassuring Trista before she left that all would be well. The hull of the ship shuddered. She hoped Andromeda had made it there in one piece. Trista frowned as the shaking halted. Problem was, with Andromeda gone, she was left alone with her thoughts—a dangerous thing in her current mood. This place, this real place, was too new, too different—too unknown. She knew nothing about space travel much less being pounded by another ship. And her son was with Rurik. Hunter had just come out of one war. How much danger was he in now? She had too many unanswered questions and was scared as hell about the battle raging in deep space. Would Hunter be okay? Would Rurik? She wondered about him. Wondered how she would feel if something happened to her new husband. A small part of her knew. She’d fallen in love with the dream man she’d come to know so many years ago. She’d been in love with him since the first. No man, not even poor Seth, could have measured up to those sensual nights she thought she’d dreamed. Still, what did she really know about Rurik?

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As the ship quaked again, realization and clarity seeped into her fogged brain. Frustration boiled in her with unanswered questions. She had known Rurik as a lover, a fantasy man who showed her passion and tenderness. Yet, in this life, he was so much more. A commander to military forces, an alien to her planet. A man with a family. And what else? Who was this person who’d found her years ago and transformed her as a youth into a woman? Was Rurik the kind of man she thought he was? Or was that the real illusion? Memories flooded her, of her lover’s hard, nude body intertwined with hers, the passion they shared, the warmth and tenderness she’d felt in Rurik’s arms. She had never felt the like again, not from someone else. She closed her eyes. Her blood heated with the thoughts, the remembered moments, the words they’d whispered, the murmurs of love. It was real. Had been real all along. So why had he left her? Tears formed in her eyes. Sadness filled her, of the time lost, of the memories that she may have had that she’d been told were coldly erased by him. How many times had he been to see her? How many times had they made love? And why did he keep coming back, only to erase her memories and leave again? She shook off her gloom. In the end, he had come for her, hadn’t he? Yet… She grimaced. Hell. She was married again. The ship rumbled as the hull vibrated. Trista glanced at the ceiling, wishing she knew what was going on. Quiet. Suddenly, a moment’s reprieve. Then she felt the ship leap as if into high gear. The force pushed her against the console. She braced herself against the desk then buried her head in her arms, doing the only thing she could. Think again. Pursing her lips, she forced herself to concentrate on other things than the raging battle. Her mind wandered. Why had Rurik come now? Why had he taken her? Was it because of Hunter? And what about Mercedes? Trista’s memory of Rurik was particularly strong during the months before she realized she was pregnant with them. Yet Rurik said she shouldn’t have remembered him at all. Why would he try to make me forget? She grasped her aching head with her palms. Too many questions. She had so much she needed to know about this man, about this life. Inhaling, she worked to center herself. Think things through. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, remembering what her thoughts were before she’d been hit by a ray gun. Yes, that’s what happened. She’d been wounded. Hadn’t Rurik said that’s why he took her? The ship seemed to slow. She wondered what was going on now. Raising her head, she rubbed her temples. The plans she’d made for her life came into focus. After her divorce, she’d decided to set a new course for herself, one where she did something that made a difference. Now things had seriously changed. Her dreams, her vision had been 101

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taken away and replaced by an advanced technology and a race she knew nothing about. As intriguing as that was, she didn’t really appreciate not having control over her own life. And now here she was, bonded for the rest of her days to a man who, in reality, she barely knew. And I thought I’d never get married again. She sputtered at the irony. Anger threatened to engulf her. The bonding ceremony made her shudder. To think she’d enjoyed being fucked in front of other people. Well, not in her right mind, she didn’t. But she had thought it a dream. Then to have four other men she knew nothing about be committed to her in some fashion. What did all that really mean? And why did Rurik want to marry her in the first place? “Sheesh.” The man had a lot of explaining to do. Yet, one thought grabbed onto her and sobered her more than any other—did Rurik love her? She affirmed her resolve. If there was one thing she knew it was this—she wanted to be cherished. Never again would she dedicate her life to a man who didn’t love her. The next explosion almost deafened her. A few alarms sounded. Gritting her teeth, Trista looked at the ceiling, frightened. “I can’t stand this.” Unbuckling herself, she jumped up. The hull vibrated again. The next jolt sent her to the floor. She didn’t care if she got battered or if she died. She just didn’t want to do it alone. She needed to find those she cared about. And she had to do something productive. She figured if Andromeda could make it to sick bay, so could she. On shaky legs, she rose and made it to the portal and waved her hand in front of the small scree