CHAPTER FOUR

 

Mindrin sipped her spice wine as she waited on the western balcony outside their suite at the very top of the temple. Heat from the wine spread through her body, evaporating some of the tension inside her. She stared out at the ocean. There was nothing like spice wine to help calm a girl’s jittery nerves. She’d been on pins and needles all day—ever since unexpectedly ending up married to alien princes—and she’d been sure someone was going to interrupt the feast to accuse her of being a liar and a fake and a crazy femme fatale out to destroy the universe. Maybe that fear was a bit exaggerated, but not by much.

Now the feast was over. They’d headed back to the beautiful suite at the top of the temple where they would be staying. She’d managed to distract herself for a few minutes by exploring the suite, but soon that was done, and she’d wandered onto the balcony for some fresh air. Mostly to buy herself time. She was nervous, but she was also excited. Make that horny. Her imagination kept shoving images of what these two would look like naked into her mind at every opportunity. It had been a while—too long—since she’d been laid, and here she was, about to get double laid. She didn’t know what to expect, but the sexual tension in the air was electric.

Tyal stepped out onto the balcony with a fresh glass of wine in his hand. He stopped and looked at her. She felt heat creep up her next and onto her cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” she asked quietly.

He seemed surprised. “Wrong? Nothing could be more right. You look absolutely stunning with the moon behind you. I wanted to make certain I kept that image of you in my mind forever.”

She felt her chest tighten and her breath grow quicker. Her celestri prince could melt her with a few well chosen words. He finished walking over to her and leaned on the railing, smiling at her, although she would’ve had to be blind to miss the desire in his eyes. His desire spurred hers even higher, so her needy ache down below only grew more intense.

“Valdur will be out here with us in a bit,” Tyal said, an amused twinkle in his eyes. “He’s checking the suite to make certain it is safe and secure. It’s the warrior in his blood.”

She chuckled. “It’s like having our own bodyguard. At least we’ll always feel safe.”

“There is that.”

Valdur walked onto the balcony. She smiled at him. “Is everything okay?”

He nodded. “Everything is fine. I’m sorry to have left your side, but a warrior does not let his guard down, even on a night as significant as this.” He stopped in front of her and reached out to take her hand. Her hand was so tiny in his it was almost frightening, but he was surprisingly gentle. “You are too important to me to ever risk.”

She opened her mouth to reply, but she could think of nothing to say. It would’ve been easy to doubt his words as overblown flattery because they had just met and been married today. That fact made her head feel like it was going to explode. But all the same, she was looking into his eyes and she could see that he meant what he’d said. She was important to him because he chose to make her important to him. Be still her thumping heart…

“I’ve been wanting you all night,” Valdur continued, his dark eyes seeming to burn. “It took every bit of my self-discipline to keep from tearing that dress off you and throwing you on the table and taking you. There is something about you that sets my blood on fire, my little human.”

Valdur drew her toward him—not roughly, but with a determined pull she found irresistible. Her nipples tightened into points, pushing against the cool fabric of her dress. He placed one big hand beneath her chin and gently tilted her head so she was staring into his dark eyes, shimmering with lust. His body was warm and yet delightfully firm, all sheathed in muscle that had her knees wobbly.

He kissed her. The male scent of him filled her even as he deepened the kiss, owning her lips. She parted for him, and then she groaned when he flicked his tongue inside her mouth. Then Tyal was behind her, slipping his arms around her, pressing his body up against hers. She felt his hard cock straining against his pants, pushing against her rear end. With a sharp gasp, she began to wiggle her hips enough to put some friction against his cock and she was immediately rewarded with a groan.

Her case of the nerve drowned in her sudden flood of desire. She wouldn’t care about tomorrow. Only being here mattered, this moment, in their arms, desperate to sate the hunger flaring inside her.

She turned enough for Tyal to claim her mouth in a dizzying kiss of his own. His male scent was different from Valdur’s but no less compelling. His kisses had her breathless, and she arched as Valdur’s hands found her breasts, caressing her, making her nipples peak even tighter. A moan escaped her when he pulled her dress top down enough to finger her nipple, skimming the pad of his thumb over the sensitive tip and sending lightning bolts of pleasure shooting straight to her brain and to her pussy. Tyal’s kisses intensified, and his hands were on her as well, stroking up her sides, cupping her ass, exploring her body at his whim.

Every moan and every shudder of delight seemed to spur them on. She was so hot she felt as if she might combust. Where had all this pent up desire come from? Had she really been so lonely these last few years, focused on work, pushing this part of her, this ache, to the side? Now was the time for her to satisfy it.

Her clothing was vanishing from her body. Vanishing quickly, with both of them working on it. She stood there and let them undress her, giving a little shudder of delight when their warm hands roamed across her inner thighs, across her abdomen, her breasts, and skimmed along her pussy, making her even wetter than she already was.

“Lift and hold her up, mate,” Tyal said, throwing a glance Valdur’s way. Without a word, Valdur swept her from the ground, his hands beneath her thighs, and turned her so she faced Tyal while cradling her against his chest. She leaned back against that rock hard chest, loving the way Tyal’s eyes seemed to drink in her now-naked body.

Valdur lifted her hips and spread her wider as Tyal moved in. The celestri prince traced one of his fingers along her slit and he smiled in approval at the wetness there. She was soaked and more than ready for them. He continued to trace his finger along her lower lips, making her arch her hips, trying to get more pressure against her clit. His grin widened, and he pushed harder, slipping his finger past her outer lips to dip within her. She groaned as he worked his finger in her, covering it in her wetness, then stroking her juices along her slit and up to her clit, circling it, then dipping down again. She arched her hips upward, panting, and opening herself fully for him. His eyes blazed as he focused on what he was doing to her, teasing her, driving her utterly wild. When her clit was throbbing with need, he thrust his finger deep into her. She cried out in pleasure as he stretched her. He began to pump into her, curling his finger along her upper channel, making her dizzy with the sensations pulsing through her.

She was rapidly approaching the edge, knowing her body was seconds from exploding into an intense orgasm that would leave her sagging in Valdur’s arms. But just as she approached the point of no return, Tyal withdrew his finger from her. He held it up, wet glistening, as he held her gaze with burning eyes. Then he slowly, lovingly, sucked her juices from his finger. She let out a long, shuddering breath.

“Shall we take her inside?” Tyal asked Valdur.

Valdur’s voice was a growl of desire. “If she is ready for what we’re going to give her? Are you ready, little human of mine?”

“Come on,” she urged, her words shaking with the intensity of her need. “I need you both in me. Now.”

Valdur shifted her so he was carrying her in his arms. She wrapped both arms around the back of his thick neck and leaned up to kiss him. They brought her back into the suite. Valdur carried her down the hall to the suite’s master bedroom. Once inside, he set her on the edge of the bed. She lay back on her elbows, watching both her princes as they stripped off their clothing. When they were both bare-chested, she gave them a wicked smile and spread her legs for them. She began to rub herself slowly, keeping her fires stoked, loving how their gazes sharpened as their lust intensified as they watched her tease herself.

Tyal finished stripping first, and by the stars his blue-silver body was perfect in the moonlight coming in from the windows. His muscles were sharply defined, his shoulders broad, and his cock was long and fully erect, thrusting upward from his body. The tip of his cock was wet with his precum. She wanted to touch him, to lick that moisture away, to taste him in her mouth. But Valdur was also just as perfect. His large frame was packed with heavy muscle. His sunset-colored skin made him stand out, and his thick cock was even longer than Tyal’s. The way he looked at her threatened to have her skin light ablaze with the heat in his gaze.

He went to her where she leaned back on the bed and pulled her to her feet and against him. His big cock pressed against her chest, the hot length between her breasts and leaving trails of precum along her skin. He bit at her neck, little love bites that didn’t hurt but sent zings of pleasure straight through her body to her clit. She turned her head to give him better access, a helpless moan escaping her lips.

“Every time you moan,” he said, his lips moving against her flesh, his hot breath on her skin, “I feel like I’m going to lose it. I love that sound.”

She turned and kissed him, hard. He came back just as fiercely, thrusting his tongue into her mouth, tasting her, taking her. Then he drew back and handed her to Tyal, giving him a chance to embrace her. Tyal’s body felt even hotter. He kissed her, then deepened the kiss, his tongue invading her mouth. She responded with her own tongue.

Valdur sat on the bed, his fist around his huge cock, lazily pumping it with his fist. The tip glistened with precum. He was watching them kissing, then he called to her.

“Little mate,” Valdur said, his deep voice thick with lust. “I need you on me. I’m going to fill you.”

Her heart raced, seeing that big cock of his, knowing that soon it would be inside her, stretching her. Valdur seemed to read her mind, because he took lubricant from a nightstand drawer and worked the lube along his big cock. Tyal led her to Valdur and turned her so her ass was to the mar’don prince. He distracted her with another soul-deep kiss while Valdur coated her back entrance with lube, gently working his finger into her back channel, patiently stretching her until her body was ready.

She drew in a quick breath when Valdur lifted her again. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his cock pointing upward, his muscles bulging as he held her full weight in the air. Then slowly, carefully, he lowered her down. The head of his cock nudged at her rear entrance, and he moved even more delicately as he pushed his cock inside her. She felt a brief moment of burn and he paused, allowing her body to adjust. Then he continued to move her weight down on him until he was fully sheathed inside her.

He didn’t begin to fuck her though. He only held her there with his hands under her thighs, supporting her full weight. He kept her perfectly angled with her legs spread, her pussy open to Tyal. Valdur’s cock remained deep inside her back channel, making her lightheaded. Not from pain, but with a heady sensation of being filled, being taken and owned.

Tyal grabbed the base of his shaft and lined himself up with her. He drew the tip of his cock down her pussy slit and then back up again, gently rubbing over her clit. The sensation was so intense she jerked, but he didn’t let her escape. He shifted again, moving his cock downward to her channel and easing forward. The head of his long cock slipped inside her, then the rest of his shaft as he drove all the way in. A helpless moan of pleasure escaped her lips at the feeling of having both of them inside her.

Valdur easily held her aloft and still as he began to pump upward, driving into her with slow, deep strokes. Tyal began to fuck her, matching Valdur’s rhythm. Her eyes rolled back with pleasure as two cocks filled her, stretching her slick pussy walls, or filling her from behind, her muscles gripping them tightly. She lost track of time as they fucked her. All she could do was float in a steadily building pleasure haze. Tyal cupped her breasts as he drove into her, then leaned in to capture her mouth and drink her moans as they escaped her lips.

She arched her back and came hard the next time he thrust deep with his hips. Her body shuddered uncontrollably as crashing waves of bliss ripped through her, blanking every thought from her mind, only leaving her helpless to do anything but ride the storm and love every second.

Both Tyal and Valdur thrust faster, trying to catch up to her and join her in ecstasy. She watched through half-lidded eyes as Tyal pumped into her, his eyes closed, his muscles tense. Then he hit the cliff and groaned with pleasure as he began to pour his hot seed into her. Two strokes later, Valdur came as well, his big cock convulsing inside her.

She came down from those incredible heights slowly, content to be held between them, to have them inside her for as long as possible.

Tyal kissed her tenderly, then withdrew from her. Meanwhile, Valdur lifted her off his cock as if she weighed nothing at all. He set her down on the bed beside him. She lay there bonelessly as aftershocks of her orgasm raced through her. Tyal climbed in beside her and she spooned up against him, while Valdur put a big arm around her. She sighed softly, feeling sated and tired and ready for sleep. She didn’t know what was coming with the dawn, but right now she felt better than she had in years, safe in the arms of her two princes. She was only afraid she’d wake up tomorrow morning and it would all have been a beautiful, sexy dream…

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Mindrin woke to the soothing, familiar sound of falling water. She felt absolutely amazing. And why shouldn’t she feel amazing? Mind-blowing sex always left her in a good mood, and the sex last night had been better than anything she’d ever experienced. She’d slept like a stone between her two princes, warm and sated and loving the feel of their bodies next to hers.

She yawned and cracked open an eyelid to peek at the large windows. The sky was tinted a gentle rose, the big, thick clouds painted in purples and pinks. Two of Andurai’s moons were still visible in the sky, but the stars had begun to fade. Beside her, both Valdur and Tyal were still asleep.

Carefully, she slipped out from between them without waking them. The sheets were lying in a tangle at the bottom of the bed, but she hadn’t needed them last night. Sleeping naked between them had been warm enough to fend off any chill from the crisp ocean breeze. She paused for a moment, admiring Tyal and Valdur lying on the bed. She didn’t think she’d ever get enough of seeing them naked, lusting over their powerful muscles, their perfect form, or those cocks that had driven her so wild last night. A grin crossed her lips. If she wanted, she could stir both those cocks back to attention with a few gentle strokes, a few teasing licks. But she didn’t want to wake them. They needed their rest if they were to be ready for her again tonight. Besides, this was the first moment she’d had to herself since all chaos had broken loose with that lift and she’d transformed into a princess.

So instead of waking them, she put on a mist-silk robe and padded out onto the balcony that faced the coming sunrise. This was one of her favorite places in the incredible suite of rooms they shared here at the Falling Water Temple. She leaned on the railing, smelled the ocean on the breeze, and watched the sun come up.

If only she could spend the day with Valdur and Tyal in their suite, hiding from the rest of the galaxy as she let both of them do whatever they wished to her, for as long as they liked. Mmm. They could order room service, stay away from the media and the politics and the responsibilities. She wanted to get closer to them, to learn even more about them. She wanted to hear stories about where they came from, their likes and dislikes, what made them laugh, what riled them up. What their families and friends were like.

Mindrin shook her head, sighing. They would get there. She just had to give it time. She knew they were in a weird situation, but right now she had no other choice than to make the best of it. After last night’s passion, she was starting to believe this might not be so bad after all. That was the understatement of the millennium. True, she was still afraid of what might happen when they found out she wasn’t who they thought she was. Yes, she still felt bad about taking Ishtali’s place and cutting her out of her own future. And finally, she had no idea how to behave in this new role, or what, exactly, would be expected of her in the future.

She was worrying too much, and it was ruining her lingering, post-sex high. She leaned against the railing near the waterfall that flowed off the edge of this balcony. Looking down, she could see the long stream plummeting over a hundred meters to the pools around the base of the temple. Ocean wind turned part of the water into a fine spray, wetting the dark purple stone of the temple’s sides and running down to the pools below the central tower. It was crazy to think she’d never been up this high in the temple before. Usually she worked on the lowest, widest level of the temple’s created island, where the machinery, storerooms, and equipment was located. It was strange to be looking down on the hundreds of waterfalls the temple was famous for from a room reserved for leaders and diplomats. But it was unforgettable. The constant sound of falling water became soothing white noise. The rainbows seemed to jump everywhere whenever the sun left the clouds and played through the ocean-driven spray.

She would miss it, that was undeniable. She’d loved it here from the moment her shuttle had touched down. There was something quiet and soothing about it—well, when it wasn’t overrun with media and security and political delegations anyway. The temple scholars did their research on healing and studied the books of their faith. The holy men preached about love and peace, helping others and being at ease with one’s place in the universe. She wasn’t very religious, but sometimes she liked to hear them talk. Also, they never gave her grief, even when she cursed over a particularly obstinate piece of machinery or a maintenance bot causing more problems than it solved. Soon she would be leaving all this behind. She’d be changing into someone else entirely. Mindrin Zeras would be gone…

But would she really be gone? Her mar’don and celestri mates hadn’t known who Ishtali was in the first place. They didn’t know if Ishtali was royalty or a soldier or a mold farmer on Kraxyn. She didn’t have to hide her personality or pretend to be someone she wasn’t. Aside from lying to them about her name, she hadn’t tried to be anyone other than the real Mindrin. Oh, and maybe she’d lied by omission about the little fact that she actually wasn’t the perfect human for them both. Other than that, though, she’d been straight with them. She’d been herself, nervous, but herself, at the feast. She hadn’t compromised or forced herself to like them. Afterward, when they’d been making such sweet, transcendent love to her, she’d held nothing back. She’d indulged her every desire, kissing, touching, tasting, fucking them and being fucked, reveling in the pleasure they’d given her. She’d been desperate to satisfy them as well, wanting them to feel the same as she did.

She would be sad to leave this place, true, but she realized she was also excited for the future. Valdur was serious, gruff, protective but also tender, and when he’d danced with her literally in his arms, it had been both thrilling and hilarious. She’d seen enough of his to know that under all that armor, he was a big old softie. Tyal seemed more complex, but she loved his smiles, the way he made her laugh and set her at ease. And his lovemaking skills had just about wrecked her forever in the best possible way. She had a sense that, despite his more humorous and lighter demeanor, the celestri prince didn’t miss much. Most of all, though, what had given her the most hope and eased her mind was how both princes had shared her last night. No fighting. No selfishness. They’d been focused on giving her all the pleasure she could take before claiming their own.

And when it came to pleasure, she’d discovered she was downright greedy.

Faintly, the whirring a hover motor over came to her over the sound of the waterfalls. She turned toward the noise, wondering why one of the robots was outside this early.

A maintenance bot flew over the balcony railing and hovered nearby. It was a VX9 unit, one that vaguely resembled a flying insect. It had big, sensor camera eyes, spiderlike feet, and twin hover fans where wings would be.

She frowned. VX9 units usually interacted with the outside heat exchangers or external repairs. She had no idea why it had flown all the way to the top level of the tower. Maybe one of its positioning subroutines was going haywire.

“You lost, little guy?” she asked, taking a step toward it.

The insect-like robot landed on the balcony a few meters from the water channel. Its lower fuselage opened up, and a box clattered to the stone floor. Then the bot’s engine blades began to spin again, and it lifted up and raced away. She stared at the black and gray box, wondering what in the world it could be and why the robot had practically crapped it there. A battery maybe? She walked to the box and squatted down, feeling the ocean breeze blow through her hair. She pushed her hair out of her eyes and picked up the box. It was metal but surprisingly light. She turned it in her hands, her curiosity growing. A simple press-button latch was on top, so she pushed it. The box unfolded using interior power hinges and revealed a sheet of folded paper inside. She picked the paper up before the breeze could blow it away. A message had been printed on the paper, and she quickly read it.

 

You are a fraud. I know who you really are. Tell the princes or I will. You have until sunset.

 

An icy chill swept deep into her bones as she finished reading. Someone had flown that bot up here to deliver their ultimatum. She stood again on shaky knees. Her ears were ringing, and she felt like she might throw up.

This was bad. This was really bad.

She took the letter, ripped it to shreds, and let the paper fall into the water channel. The current swept the pieces past the lower edge of the balcony and over the waterfall to vanish. They would be a soggy mess caught in the filters of the pools below, and no one would ever be able to read the message. But tearing up the note didn’t remove the threat.

So what should she do? She could march back inside, wake both princes, and tell them like the note demanded. But what if that ruined the treaty? What if telling Valdur and Tyal the truth turned them against her forever?

No. She couldn’t tell them. She wouldn’t. There was too much riding on this, too much risk, too much that could go wrong. Her decision wasn’t only about her or the emotions she was beginning to feel for them. It was about helping keep the peace between the mar’don and the celestri for another sixty years at least. She needed to talk to Commander Dolzen about this because this was way above her pay grade.

“There you are, serrasa va,” Tyal said from behind her, startling her so badly she jumped and gasped.

She spun around, feeling guilty. She took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. “You surprised me.”

He grinned. “I know you’re enjoying the sunrise, but the bed is warmer with you in it.”

She couldn’t keep a grin of her own from crossing her face. Tyal hadn’t bothered to dress when he’d come onto the balcony. He stood there, gloriously naked, and she loved the view. Yes, even more than the sunrise. Her celestri prince might be smaller compared to Valdur’s incredible mass, but every muscle was tight and defined, like a work of art. And the cock dangling between his legs was long and beautifully shaped and begging her to touch it. She wanted to go down on her knees in front of him. She would run her tongue along the underside of his shaft until he was rock hard, while she gently cupped his balls with her hand, running a teasing finger along the underside of his groin until his head lolled back with pleasure. That would be far better than panicking over the letter. Besides, she only had until sundown. This might be the last time she got to enjoy either of them.

No, she couldn’t think of that. She wouldn’t.

For a moment, his eyes narrowed and he frowned, as if he’d sensed something was wrong. She shoved all her worries out of her mind and replaced them with thoughts of what she was going to do to the both of them when she got them back on the bed. She even managed to keep the smile on her face.

“I love when you smile,” Tyal finally said. “And you have a naughty look in your eye that heats my blood, serrasa va.”

“What does that word mean?”

He tilted his head, considering. “It literally translates as ‘love mine,’ but you can think of it as ‘my love.’”

Love. She desperately wanted it, and she was putting the chance of having it at risk. Oh how she wanted to tell him the truth right now. But she was too afraid it would cost her everything she’d only just begun to enjoy.

Valdur suddenly appeared behind Tyal, giving a big stretch. He noticed her out on the balcony, and she saw the desire flare in his eyes. The big mar’don walked to her, his expression determined, and it was hard not to ogle his big cock, swinging between his thighs, as he moved. He gave her one of his rare smiles, one that said he knew exactly what she’d been distracted by. He reached her and effortlessly swept her up in his arms. She gave a startled squeak and a laugh as he held her close, cradled in his arms.

“Tyal,” Valdur said in his deep voice. “Our mate was out here alone when she should’ve been enjoying our attentions in bed.”

“A problem we need to immediately fix, I think,” Tyal replied with a glint in his eye.

She laughed again, feeling her own desire rapidly heating her blood, loving the feel of Valdur’s muscular body and already anticipating what they had in store for her.

She was selfish. She didn’t have the strength of will to tell them now…if telling them was even a good idea. She simply didn’t know. But the one thing she was certain of was that she had an enemy. She had an enemy who threatened the joy she’d found, and if Mindrin made a wrong move, it might just cost her everything.

And there was no way in the world she had the willpower to resist her two wonderful princes right now. She needed them more than ever.

Valdur carried her inside. Tyal shut the balcony door behind him. She let their touch and their desire drive the fear and doubt from her. She let the pleasure they gave her leave her sated, warm, feeling protected and safe.

Even though she knew the feeling couldn’t last…