Night of the Zandians (Zandian Brides 1)

“Something happened between them,” Jax fills in, although I’ve told him nothing yet.

“She’s the one who stitched my wound,” I say, as if that explains things, touching the jagged line that crosses my cheek from neck to eye.

How will our future mate feel about the ugly scar it will leave? It must make me appear hideous. The king’s infant son burst into tears this morning when he saw it.

“And?” Jax prompts.

My cock starts to swell at the memory of her sweet human scent, her breasts dancing in front of my mouth as her slender fingers moved deftly with the primitive needle and thread. I wanted her then, and still do, now. “I may have… touched her inappropriately.”

Ronan barks out a laugh and Jax rolls his eyes. “What the veck does that mean?” Jax demands.

I stare in the direction of the medbay, my feet demanding I march down there right now and carry her back to our shared chamber so we can start the process of claiming her. All vecking night.

“She was standing so vecking close—straddling my leg. When she stuck me with the needle I grabbed a handful of her ass.” Then she rubbed her hot little

pussy on my thigh. I don’t share that part with them. I’d rather keep the memory to myself for now.

“Over the tunic, right?” Jax asks doubtfully, like he’s trying to make this right in his mind so we can get past it.

I shake my head.

“Vecking excrement, Tarren! What in the stars were you thinking?”

I shrug. “I was thinking about her juicy ass. I’d already threatened to warm it for her if she left the shelter again. If you’d seen the way she blushed, you would’ve been fixated on that particularly glorious part of her anatomy too.”

Jax’s lips tug up. “I’m sure I would’ve been.”

“So what’d she do?” Ronan asks.

My own lips lift. “She apologized to me.”

Jax groans and adjusts his cock.

“And then I let her rub her little clitty all over my thigh while she stitched me up.”

“Oh please,” Ronan laughs, giving me a shove.

I grin back. I’m not about to tell them that it’s actually true. It’s too impossible to believe.

“So let’s go claim her,” Jax says, heading for the medbay.

Ronan follows without question.

I stare for a moment, but then I jog after them. I know that look in Jax’s eye. He’s the thinker in our group and when he’s made a decision, it’s usually a good one.

Riya

There’s really nothing to do in the medbay. All the injured have been moved out to one of the pop-up domes the warriors set up this morning. It seems King Zander came to Zandia well-prepared for post-battle occupation of his planet.

I walk around the empty space, spraying sterilization mist on surfaces.

I’m hiding.

If I’m honest with myself, I’ll admit that’s what I’m doing. I’m afraid to go anywhere near a male Zandian right now because as far as I can tell, King Zander just declared it open season on human females.

I stop and stare at the cot where the giant warrior, Tarren, sat. I don’t usually think about males, but this one has dominated my thoughts from our first interaction.

He’s all height and muscles, and stars, the way they ripple as he moves. He ran out into the laser fire and dragged the injured in for me to treat all planet rotation. Scolded me when I went out myself.