3013: MATED (3013: The Series) (4 page)

“I am curious about something…”
Xavier said, stepping even closer so she had to tilt her head back to maintain
eye contact with him.

She tried to calm her rapidly
beating heart as she fought the urge to step back. His closeness didn’t
frighten her, but she was afraid she might jump him if he got any closer. Her
hands trembled with the desire to touch him. His scent was intoxicating and his
powerful body made her want to rub herself against him. Shaking off the
feeling, she tried to smile at him. “Please, feel free to ask whatever you
want. I will answer whatever I can for you while you are visiting. That’s why
I’m here.”

The others moved as one so they
were effectively blocking her in, making her eyes widen and her pulse speed up.
Excitement mixed with apprehension as she felt Thorn at her back while the
others stood at her sides. She’d never felt so small and feminine before, and
became all too aware that she was alone with four of the largest males she had
ever seen.

Her heart thudded in her chest
and her knees grew weak as their emotions swamped her with lust too powerful to
ignore. She felt her pussy weep in response, spilling the proof her of desire
for them as an embarrassed blush heated her cheeks.

Suddenly, taking this assignment
didn’t seem like a very good idea.

Alexis watched as they inhaled
deep, drawing in her scent and she knew they smelled her arousal. She’d read
enough about them to know about their enhanced sense of smell and her
embarrassment changed to pure mortification.

Yep, she was fucked…and not in a
good way.

“Calm, little one,” Xavier
murmured as he lifted a large hand and gently stroked over the star tattoo next
to her right eye. “What is this mark you wear? We have noticed females with
this and others who wear a different symbol.”

Nothing he could have asked could
have killed the lust she was feeling quicker than the reminder of her personal
shame. Her jaw clenched against the pain as she struggled to calm the emotions
swirling around inside her. “It is the symbol that marks me a flawed woman,”
she explained, her voice void of all emotion.

Holy shit!

She wasn’t expecting the reaction
she got when all four of them growled furiously. The low, vicious sound was
frightening and made her freeze faster than if someone was holding a blaster to
her throat, but with them surrounding her she had nowhere to go. Xavier used
his hand to tilt her chin up, and she found herself staring into silver eyes
glowing bright with fury.

“Who dared to call you flawed?”

***

Chapter Three

Xavier barely held back a snarl
of rage as he looked down at the tiny human female staring up at him with wide
eyes the prettiest shade of violet he had ever seen in all the worlds he had
ever visited.

But she wasn’t just any
female…she was his mate.

As a dragon shifter and keeper of
magic, Xavier was a male with immense power, far beyond anything humans could
ever imagine. With his brother Galan and his two best friends and blood
brothers, Thorn and Brydan, there was very little they could not accomplish. No
task was too great or out of their reach, and what he wanted most right at the
moment was to go out and find every single living creature that had dared
insult his little female and destroy them.

Alexis belonged to them…even if
she didn’t know it yet, and no one would ever harm her ever again. She was
their mate, or she would be once they claimed her, and it was their duty and
privilege to care for her.

From the moment they had arrived
on Earth, Xavier had been overwhelmed with the need to claim Alexis. All it had
taken was one look, one smell of her scent and he knew without a doubt she was
the one they had been looking for their entire lives. He had felt something
settle inside his soul, as if he had finally found the missing piece of himself
that allowed him to really breathe for the first time, and knew it was the same
for Galan, Thorn and Brydan.

Dragon Warriors wished to find
their mate more than anything. They were immortal, and the long years became
harder to bear without the one female they would love above all else. Most
males were born in twin sets, and all had dark, golden skin with dark hair and
features. For those males that chose to live their lives away from their home
world of Arcadia, it was a lonely existence. Despite the hardships, the need to
explore was ingrained into their very being.

Years ago, when Xavier and Galan
had realized they wanted to leave home, it was only fitting to ask their
closest friends, Thorn and Brydan, to join them. Their parents had been the best
of friends and it was natural that the four males had formed a close friendship
growing up. Since they were younglings, Xavier had always been the leader of
their group. Strong and commanding, he took charge of every situation. His twin
Galan was the complete opposite of him. Quiet and reserved, some thought him
shy, but the truth was that he was a dreamer with a poet’s soul. Thorn was a
planner and saw everything, while his brother Brydan was a trouble maker with a
wicked sense of wit.

The four of them were very
different, but together they created an unstoppable force. They had always
acknowledged that their close bond would make it necessary to take a single
mate to share among them. They loved traveling the stars, but their desire for
a mate who would love them had grown into a hunger that was too strong to
ignore.

The four of them had received
plenty of offers from females on numerous worlds they had visited. Most females
seemed to be drawn to their strong bodies and dark looks. Sometimes they would
sate their lust, but never before had all four of them looked at one female and
knew she belonged to them.

Not until they saw Alexis
Donovan.

She was a vision more beautiful
than he could have ever imagined in his wildest fantasies. The tiny female had pale
hair the color of a sunbeam, and shocking eyes that reminded him of the purple
moons from their homeland. He knew instantly that she would be the one to
complete his soul, and the urge to claim her rode him hard. Xavier’s body had
grown tight and his cock had hardened the moment their eyes had met. He had
also felt the surge of lust from his brother and friends and knew they were in
complete accord.

“She is the one,”
Galan
had declared through their mind link the moment they had transported to the Earth’s
surface.

“Aye, she is,”
Xavier had
responded, feeling a wealth of satisfaction surge through him.

“Let us claim her now and be
done with this,”
Brydan had growled impatiently.
“We could be gone and
bedding her before the humans know what happened.”

“Tread carefully, brother,”
Thorn had warned.
“She is a human representative and we do not want to start
a war with Earth if we claim her.”

That had Xavier going still, and
had sent anger surging through him.
“If? There is no if, Thorn. She is our
mate. Can you not feel it?”

“Aye, I do, but what if she is
taken or does not want us?”
Thorn shot back.
“And how willing would she
be to mate with us if we cause a war with her people?”

Damn Thorn and his logic.

But hearing that her people
deemed her unworthy changed things.

“Calm, brother,”
Galan
said, using their blood bond to speak telepathically instead of out loud as
Xavier fought the urge to shift.

Never before had he felt such
rage coursing through his veins. How dare they call her flawed? She was
perfection, every inch of her lush body, and anyone who said different would
learn that they would have to answer to him.

“To all of us,”
Brydan
corrected.

“Calm, both of you,”
Thorn
warned softly.
“You are scaring her.”

Xavier took a deep breath, trying
to regain control over his emotions. The last thing he wanted to do was
frighten his mate before he had a chance to bond with her. But looking at her
he didn’t see fear, he saw astonishment instead.

“You…you’re very angry,” she
whispered, her voice filled with surprise.

“Aye, I am, but not at you. You
are not frightened of me because you know I would never harm you,” Xavier
stated. It wasn’t a question. No, he was too arrogant for that.

Her lips curved up in a small
smile that made his heart race. “No. I’m just surprised that you are angry on
my behalf.”

Insult had his eyes narrowing on
her. From the sound of the growls coming from Galan, Thorn and Brydan, they
obviously felt the same way.

Her head jerked to the side,
looking at the other males then settled back on Xavier’s face. He watched as
she gulped, and couldn’t help but imagine her doing that while drinking down
his seed. He held back a groan as he shifted his stance to ease the pain of his
erection trapped inside his leather pants. If he didn’t get her under him soon
he felt like he was going to die.

“Why is this such a surprise to
you?”

She sputtered for a moment, not
knowing what to say then she simply shrugged. Xavier was not satisfied with
that response and would have questioned her further if her wrist unit didn’t
beep.

He stepped back, allowing her to
leave the cocoon they had created around her and immediately felt bereft at the
loss of her nearness. They watched her silently as she moved across the room
and answered the call. No matter how far she had moved from them, they were
still able to hear the call with their enhanced hearing and relaxed as they
realized she was speaking to her commander.

“I need her,”
Xavier
whispered, all the longing and need he felt clear in his tone.

“We all do, but I fear rushing
her into a mating that she does not understand,”
Thorn replied.

Brydan blew out an impatient
breath.
“I still say we should just take her with us and leave. Once she is
truly ours we can return to visit.”

“I wonder how you ever have
female company,”
Galan growled in disgust, making Brydan grin.

“I have never had one complain
yet, my friend.”

Brydan’s low laughter had Alexis
turning back toward them, smiling at the sound. The four males straightened as
she walked back to join them, her eyes filled with hesitation. “That was my
commander. There has been an informal dinner planned for this evening if you’re
willing to attend. We have a larger celebration planned at the end of the week
but—”

“Would you like to go to this
dinner?” Brydan asked.

She frowned. “That’s not up to
me. This is your—”

Galan stepped closer and cupped
the side of her face in his large hand, rubbing his thumb over her cheek as if
savoring the feel of her. “We have no preference except to spend more time with
you. If you would like to attend then we shall.”

“I…okay. Yes, I’d like to go.”

Galan nodded. “Then we will be
happy to go wherever you wish.”

She cleared her throat and took a
step back, looking around at the four of them. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t prepared
for your arrival yet. I have to go back to my living quarters to pick up a few
things. As a liaison officer, we usually stay with the visitors we are in
charge of looking after. That is, if it’s alright with you if I stay here…in
case you need anything.”

“We would love for you to stay
with us,” Thorn said so reverently that it had her blinking.

Thorn glanced at Xavier, reading
the sharp hunger flooding through their link. He knew Xavier was close to
losing his mind with the need for her, not that he wasn’t. But Thorn knew that
Xavier had always been closer to the dragon spirit that lived within them, and
it was more difficult for his friend to control his animal nature.
“You and
Galan go with her. Prepare her for what is to come, and by the goddess, explain
to her what it is we want before pouncing on her.”

Xavier looked at Thorn with
gratitude glowing bright in his molten silver eyes.
“Thank you, my friend. I
will do my best to convince her to bond with us.”

“Just try not scare her.”

“All will be well,”
Galan
promised.
“We will allow no other outcome. She belongs to us. All four of
us.”

“This bites,”
Brydan
grumbled.
“Since Thorn and I will have to wait for our turn to bond with
her, at least keep our mind link open so we can experience her pleasure that
way.”

Xavier and Galan nodded then
smiled as Alexis shot them a confused look. “We shall accompany you to your
domicile to collect your things,” Xavier said.

“Oh, well…”

“Thorn and Brydan will stay here
to relax for a bit while my brother and I join you,” Galan said, making Brydan
snort. “It will be interesting to see where you reside.”

Before she could argue, Xavier
took her small hand in his. “We do not wish to be parted with you, and would
feel better if we could come with you to offer our protection.”

Her brows shot up at that then
she sighed. “I’ll be fine, but you can come with me if you really want.”

“We do.”

The looks of satisfaction on
their faces gave her pause, but figured she could take them with her if they
really wanted to go with her. Really, they were just curious.

What could happen if she took
them home with her?

****

Alexis fidgeted uncomfortably as
she led Xavier and Galan to her living quarters.

Acutely aware of the curious eyes
on them as they walked down the street together, she led them toward the
building she lived in that catered to elites. The large men stubbornly refused
to leave her sides, which meant other people had to move out of their way. Of
course, most people would have moved anyway, considering how big the Dragon
Warriors were.

They were like her own personal
force field.

Their glowing eyes seemed to scan
the street as if searching for some unseen threat. Their big bodies shielded
her protectively, as if she were the most important person in the world to
them. It was an amazing feeling, yet also slightly bewildering.

And It made her heart ache with
longing.

They were large men and very
intimidating…not to mention so wickedly handsome she felt the need to change
her clothes when she got home because she was sure her panties were soaking
wet. She wanted to cringe as the men at her sides took a deep breath, closing
their eyes as if to savor the scent. They had been doing that ever since they
had left the guest suite. She hoped to god that they were scenting the savory
smells of food drifting from the various restaurants they’d walked past instead
of her lust for them.

The scene back at the visitors
suite had her confused, and being around Xavier and Galan wasn’t allowing her
to process what had happened in peace. All four of the men had been killing her
with the waves of lust pouring off of them. When they had closed her in between
their massive bodies she had been close to ripping off their clothing and
begging them to take her.

Never before had she felt so
connected to anyone, and it baffled her even more because the intense desire
hadn’t been for one or two of them.

She wanted all four of them.

Needing to get the hell out of
that room before she did something she’d regret, she had taken the opportunity
Jax’s phone call had afforded her and said she had to leave. She’d never
expected them to want to join her.

“Hey, Lexie!”

Alexis turned as she heard the
sound of her friend Skylar’s voice calling her. She smiled as the other woman
hurried over.

“Hi, Skylar,” Alexis greeted the
other woman warmly. She introduced Xavier and Galan to her friend, covertly
watching them for their reaction. Skylar Aris was a beautiful woman, tall with
the perfect body of an enhanced elite, and long black hair she usually had
pulled back in a bun, but was now falling over her shoulders in sexy waves.

All men reacted to Skylar’s
beauty, much to her friend’s consternation. She usually had the ability to make
men speechless with one look of her eerily light-blue eyes, but Xavier and
Galan seemed…unaffected. Puzzlement rocked Alexis back a mental step. She had
been so certain the males would forget about her as soon as they met another
beautiful woman, but the only thing she sensed from them was mild curiosity.