Night of the Zandians (Zandian Brides 1)

I nod and let my eyes flicker shut and drop my head back onto his strong chest, savoring his scent. I’ve never been held by a male before, never cared for. It feels so good to be in his arms.

Tarren’s voice breaks into my reverie. “Let us move to the hoverdisk.” His gruff tone, instead of putting me on edge, makes me eager for more of his touch as well. He may be rougher, but Jax was right earlier when he said I trust Tarren. Maybe it’s because I saw him risking his life for humans and Zandians alike during the battle. Maybe it’s because that shared trauma bonded me to him. For whatever reason, I do trust him.

I open my eyes and find him staring at me, and then he smiles. It’s a wicked, feral smile, and it makes the stitches on his wound contort, but I love it. His lopsided grin is so gorgeous that I can’t resist, and I smile tentatively back and hold out my hand. I’ve never done this willingly with one male, let alone three, but it feels right. His grip is warm and firm, and I squeeze hard, then shift my touch, sliding my small fingers along his long, strong ones. It still amazes me how powerful his species is, how large.

One of them rearranged the hoverdisks so that the three separate hoverdisks are now joined, making one enormous surface. Jax settles onto the mattress, leaning his back against the fabric on the wall, and holds me backwards against his chest. I feel his arousal between his legs, pushing against my buttocks. I wait for the sick feeling to take hold, the one I have any time I think about the male organ, but it doesn’t come. When Jax holds my hips and tugs me harder into his body, the pressure of his malehood against my ass only makes me push back, wanting more.

Tarren steps forward, eyes glittering. “Veck, you’re beautiful,” he growls. “Wrap your arms around Jax’s neck and hold on.”

I obey. The position lifts and separates my breasts. My nipples peak in the air, even though it’s not cold. My breath rasps in and out in short gasps as I watch him approach.

He kneels on the soft mattress. “Don’t let go,” he orders, then he leans in and puts his mouth to my nipple.

I don’t expect to feel anything, since they’ve numbed the surface, but the sensation is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I still can feel the warmth of his tongue, and when he sucks my stiffened nipple in his mouth, a shot of pure desire hits me at the juncture of my thighs. I shift, grabbing Jax’s hair, and tug hard as Tarren suckles me, first on one side, then the other. When he bites down, I yelp at the sudden pop of pain, and then moan as the next feeling comes: desire.

“I think she likes that,” Jax chuckles, stroking my belly, just above the area where I’m on fire. I make some kind of noise and push up, but that makes my nipples even more accessible to Tarren, who growls and bites the other one. He runs his hands down my thighs, squeezing, touching in the same rhythm his tongue uses on my nipples. Coupled with the way Jax is stroking my belly, soft, tickling brushes, it’s making me both sweaty and needy.

“Oh!” I want more than I’m getting, although the sensation is almost too much.

“I think she needs to be bare,” comments Ronan, his voice low and gravelly.

Tarren sucks hard on my nipple, then pulls back, letting go with a pop of suction that makes me whimper anew. “Agreed.” He swings his legs to the side and stands up. He helps me kick off my boots. “Lift your hips.” He tugs at my panties. I obey and when I’m naked, Ronan taps my elbows.

“Let go of Jax now,” he says, “and give me your hands.” He pulls me up to a sitting position, then says simply, “Stand up. Let us see you.”

He assists me to my feet and points to a spot on the floor. “Stand there, Riya.” All of his usual joking playfulness is gone, replaced with a gritty, feral determination.

I don’t know if it’s fear or just resistance. Maybe I can’t stand the humiliation of being naked while they’re clothed. I shake my head and fold my arms across my breasts. “No.” It was one thing to lie back with my eyes shut and let them touch me. This seems too intense. I won’t do it.

Jax chuckles softly as he crawls off the hoverdisk. “Then we’ll help you, lovely.” He grips my wrists and pulls them over my head. He’s so tall he can hold them fully stretched. Tarren and Ronan both circle me, taking their fill of my naked form. I should be angry, but instead I’m turned on. Like in the corridor, when Tarren covered my eyes, it’s actually easier for me when they take control. Which makes no sense considering my history.

Still, there’s no denying the arousal dripping onto my inner thighs.

Tarren steps up behind me and wraps one arm around my waist, splaying his fingers over my belly.

The belly that won’t be growing large with Zandian babies. But I can’t think about that.

His palm glides lower, then lower still, but before it reaches the place I’m dying for him to touch, his other palm smacks down on my bare ass.

“Spread your legs,” Tarren says.

I don’t move.

Jax pushes his boot between my legs and kicks my feet apart. “A little more obedience, beautiful,” he says, but there’s laughter in his voice. “Or else Tarren will heat that adorable ass of yours.”

All three males inhale deeply.

Oh sweet Mother Earth. They can smell my excitement. Damn their sensitive Zandian noses.

Jax chuckles darkly. “I think she wants that.” He burrows his fingers into my hair again and tugs my head back. His grip is not hard, but possessive. “Should we turn your pretty ass pink?” The pleasure in his voice reverberates around the room.

“No.” It’s less a word than a gasp and I already know it’s useless. The matter has been decided. By my body as much as their desire.

“I’ve been dying to spank this ass since I first threatened it and watched your pretty face blush.” Tarren nips my neck, his lips soft, teeth hard, and the mix of pain and pleasure makes me moan and try to push my body closer to his. “Don’t worry. The pain will be worth it. Because, veck, I promise we know how to make you cry with pleasure, little mate.”

Jax and Tarren both walk me over to the hoverdisk. Ronan sits on one side, and Jax on the other. Tarren, in the middle, adjusts me so my hips are over his lap, and my body is stretched out over the other two. Jax takes my hands, and Ronan holds my calves. Although I am naked, lying face downward, I feel surprisingly… safe. Like they will take care of me. Which is a strange feeling, since I’m about to be spanked.

“Spread her thighs a little,” Tarren orders.