Mated (4 page)

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“
What is so important, that would be worth staying for?
”

Andros’ question ate away at her. Because he had a point. What was so great about

Earth? Not to say that it was so horrible she would immediately pack off to another

planet just because a group of impossibly sexy aliens asked her to. But hadn’t she just been wishing that she’d taken more risks in her life? So why immediately discount their offer?

Assuming that she wasn’t just dreaming this, of course. Or off her rocker. Those

were distinct possibilities. But she considered herself to be open-minded. Given that the universe was so incredibly vast, it was probably crazy and egotistical to assume that Earth was the only planet that actually contained life. It wasn’t
that
much more of a stretch to accept that aliens were here now.

And, if she were being honest with herself, this was far more lucid and involved

than any dream she’d ever had.

But could you do this? Be with all three of these men? These incredibly sexy but obviously
extremely horny men?

The moisture pooling between her thighs told her she could. Wanton as it was. If

she were to even consider something like this with men on her own planet, they might

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brand her a whore. But it seemed to be accepted among these men. And from what

Andros was telling her, they wouldn’t think her a whore or disrespect her for it.

The thought bore consideration. Even if it was just a dream.

Taking a breath, she asked him, “Are you so sure that sex between humans and—

and your species—would even work?”

He looked relieved at her question, perhaps because it meant that she might be

considering his offer. “There are some Earth women who are mated to Spygians. In fact, those among us who have mated with human women claim that they are well-suited

for the…the rigors of our lifestyle.”

Natalie choked on a breath as his words brought a dozen naughty images into her

mind. “What about sexually transmitted diseases?” She picked up her glass of wine and drank deeply from it, resisting the urge to fan herself with her hand. When had it gotten so hot in here?

“Spygians do not have any such thing, nor can they be transmitted from humans. It

is a non-issue.”

Taking a shaky breath, she asked him for a third glass of wine. Perhaps it would be

better if she continued this conversation in a delightful, wine-induced haze.

“What about babies?” She’d always wanted them, someday. It wasn’t a dream she

thought she could give up.

“We can successfully mate with humans, though all the children born of this type of

union have been male. However, you should know that impregnation is only done at

will.”

“At will?” she repeated incredulously.

“Yes. When we were all ready for such a thing, we would express our desire, and it

would happen then. But not at any time before.”

“But…but how would you know whose baby it was?”

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He shook his head calmly. “That matters not to us. We will be one family. The child

will belong to us all.”

Holy crap. No STDs, and I can’t even get pregnant unless I actually want to?
He had already eliminated just about every concern a woman faced when thinking about sex.

“Doesn’t it bother you to have to share one woman?”

Andros shook his head, looking confused at her question. “That has always been

our way. Why would it bother us? Besides, my brothers’ pleasure brings me pleasure.”

“Brothers?”

“Brothers in spirit, though not by blood,” he explained.

“So, given that you share so much with your men, how do you choose them? Or is

there a choice?”

Andros gifted her with a sexy smile that made her heart skip a beat. “In Spygia, we

males reach our mating period at the age of one hundred twenty-four years. Based on

my studies, I believe this is the equivalent of thirty-one or so in human years.

“Spygians are a sexual species. Once we reach our mating period, we are driven by

a constant desire to bond with our female, and once mated our strength and energy is

increased many times over. There are ritual contests performed before we reach our

mating period, during which it is decided which male will be the leader of his pod, and which men will belong to one pod.”

One hundred twenty-four years? Holy cow. “Does time go by differently there?

What would happen to a human in Spygia?”

“You would age as we do.”

Well, that was good to know at least.

Could you possibly do this, Natalie?

A flock of nervous butterflies took flight in her stomach as she realized she was

honestly considering this. “Okay, so say I was considering your offer. What would you want me to do?”

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Andros smile broadly, as if he sensed that victory was within his grasp. “First we

would have to determine that you are indeed our mate. We must perform a ritual test.”

“Test? What sort of test?”

Squirming uncomfortably in his chair, he replied, “It is detailed and difficult to

explain. But I will say that before you agree to the test, you must decide with a certainty that you would be amenable to mating with me and my men. If there are any doubts…”

Natalie took a deep breath. It appeared that he was placing the ball firmly in her

court. Accept the possibility of being with three incredibly virile men…or go back to her old life as junior secretary at the law firm? Live with the men on this amazing ship…or return to her tiny apartment in her run-down building?

“You’ve given me a lot to think about,” she said finally. “What’s my time frame to

decide?”

His face took on a pained expression. “I do realize that you will need some time,

Natalie, to become acquainted with us. To learn more about Spygia. But we can give

you no more than a few days before we must begin our journey back to our planet.

However, during that time I ask that you remain on the ship with us. The more time we have together, the quicker you will become acquainted with us.”

“But my job. I’ll get fired if I mis—”

“Would that truly upset you?” he responded dryly.

It appeared he knew more about her than she’d originally thought, by the tone of

his voice as he asked her that question. Hey, the odds were she was just dreaming all this craziness up. But on the off chance she wasn’t, maybe a little stay on board this ship would be the perfect way to shake things up a bit. Lousy job be damned.

Taking a deep breath, she said, “Okay, I’ll stay for a bit.”

He grinned triumphantly. “That is good.” Pushing back from the table, he rose. “I

imagine you must be quite exhausted. You have had quite a trying day. Let me escort

you back to your chamber.”

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He was right. She was exhausted. Stifling a sudden yawn, Natalie rose and

followed him out the door and down the corridor. He walked close by her side, filling her nostrils with his overwhelming masculine scent as he pointed out a feature of the ship here and answered a question about a strange object there, until they were back

outside of the door leading into her room.

As she thought of how they had recreated her room at home, she found herself

pleased that they’d obviously taken the time and effort to do something with the hope of making her feel more at ease in this strange space. The gesture was noted and

appreciated. Her dream aliens were difficult to ignore.

“Natalie,” Andros said softly, placing his hand on hers. “I’m sorry if I frightened

you earlier back at your apartment. I would never wish to have you fear me.”

The look in his eyes was mesmerizing. He looked at her as if she was some sort of

treasure that he couldn’t take his eyes off. Not the sort of look she’d ever gotten from a man before. She found that she really liked it.

“Thank you,” she replied softly, making no immediate move to pull her hand away.

It felt good in his.

“I know that I told you we would allow you to learn more about us, and we will.

But I want to promise you, if you but choose to stay with us, we will work eagerly to ensure that your every desire is fulfilled.”

Her breath caught as his words. The way he said it, she could almost believe it.

When his mouth came down toward hers ever so slowly, giving her ample

opportunity to object, she found that she couldn’t do so. Didn’t want to. She wanted his lips on hers. To see how he would taste. And she wasn’t disappointed. The man tasted

better than chocolate. He softly pressed his lips to hers once, then twice, before slipping his tongue through and parting her lips.

Andros’ tongue flicked out teasingly, penetrating her mouth and withdrawing,

making her wet almost instantly. Though he kept his carefully controlled body away

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from hers, he inhaled and groaned roughly, as if he could smell the scent of her arousal.

“You taste delicious,” he said softly. “I could kiss you forever.”

Natalie moaned, leaning into him unconsciously. His sweet, insistent tongue traced

the edge of her lip before thrusting inside once more in an imitation of the sex act. God, if he was as good in bed as he was at kissing…

Andros broke off with a muttered oath, pressing his forehead to hers for a moment

before drawing back. “You are too tempting, my female. I must stop now, while I still can.”

Natalie stared up at him, unable to hide her desire for him as she subconsciously

parted her lips. The man had her almost insensible with just one kiss. If he wasn’t a dream, then it was obvious that he surely wasn’t human. No human man could cast

such an erotic spell.

“Good night,” she said in a strangled tone as she slowly backed into her room.

Once the doors closed her into her chamber, she was both relieved and

disappointed when she was able to successfully fight her urge go running back out,

begging him to take her.

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When Natalie awoke the next morning and rushed to pull the curtains aside, she

didn’t know whether or not she was surprised by the fact that the view was still that of outer space, rather than her familiar city street. If she was dreaming, this was the

longest, most drawn-out dream she’d ever had.

“Holy cow. I can’t believe this.”

Right there in the corner of the room was the door leading into the bathroom. Just

like at home. But when she approached it, the door slid open to reveal a luxuriously

appointed bathing room.

“Well, this is definitely not like home.”

It was much, much better. Everything appeared to be decorated in marble, but upon

closer look, it wasn’t quite marble but a rougher stone that closely resembled it. One she’d never seen before. There was a long counter with a sink in it, and in front of that a long vanity mirror. Behind a glass door was a deep shower with six showerheads that

sprayed from every direction.

“Let’s try this out, shall we?” She shed her clothes and stepped inside. There were

no knobs, only one button, so she held her breath and pushed it. The water instantly

came on, and it was the perfect temperature as it sprayed down on her like rain.

There was some sort of container on the wall that had a pump. It was made of the

same marbled stone as the rest of the bathroom, and when Natalie pressed it lavender-

smelling soap foamed out.

She took her time bathing, reveling in the heavenly feel of the hot water cascading

down her body. Between her thighs. God, she was turned on beyond belief, just by

being in the presence of her dream aliens.

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Her body was suffused in heat as she remembered Andros’ deep, erotic kiss. The

man kissed like there was no tomorrow, like a man who was dying and therefore had

nothing to lose. She was amazed at the intensity of her attraction to him.

True, he was seriously fuckable, with his strong body that any sane man would

envy and his impossibly beautiful face. But it was something more than just the way he looked. It was the essence he projected. The way his golden eyes had pierced through

her right before he kissed her, silently promising her all sorts of naughty things.

Recalling his kiss, she couldn’t help herself. She rubbed her clit with two fingers.

Then pressed those fingers inside her, plunging them in and out of her moist heat as she rubbed her thumb against her clit. As aroused as she was, it didn’t take much to bring her to a shuddering release.

Natalie exhaled deeply. “That’s better.” At least now she stood a chance of seeing

Andros without automatically jumping his bones.

After she drew her clothes back on, she walked out of her bedroom, standing in the

empty hall for a moment before deciding to head to the dining hall. Sure enough, all

three men were sitting at the table when she entered, eating breakfast. Her face grew hot as three pairs of eyes focused directly on her, their greedy gazes making her feel exposed. But despite their obvious hungry glances, they remained respectful as they

rose in acknowledgment of her presence.

“Good morning, Natalie,” Andros said, motioning to a place beside him. “Please,

order your breakfast and sit.”

She looked at their plates, filled with unfamiliar things. There was even something

that looked like a piece of meat but was green in color.
Gross.

Walking over to the materializer, she said,
“I’d like eggs and toast, please.” Once again the box opened to reveal her requested plate of food, which she brought to the