Chapter Seven
They stood shoulder to shoulder in the narrow pod. The oval wasn’t very big to begin with, but sharing it with two oversized dragons made it tight quarters indeed.
The lights dimmed and a dull hum like faulty fluorescent lighting filled the chamber. A flicker of blue light at the center of the pod caught their attention, and a holograph of a silver egg manifested at the center of the space.
Gerri’s voice murmured over the intercom in a language Valerie had never heard. The egg shimmered, its translucent surface a beautiful, glowing blue.
The holographic oval hung suspended in the air between them, its incandescence flooding the floor in opaque blue.
“Uhm, maybe we should holds hands,” Valerie said, her voice cracking. “You know. Just to be safe.”
A corner of Xavier’s mouth curled, but he nodded. “Sure, honey. Just to be safe.”
“Okay, people, this goes out to Valerie Ross!” Seconds later the 80s classic “Jump” by Van Halen played over the inter-pod intercom.
Valerie grinned, and some of her anxiety faded with the familiar beat. “Gerri Wilder, you rock!”
“Heads up, everyone. Listen for my go/no go,” Gerri said. “We’re close.”
The opaque blue shimmered and the illusion spread across the floor, lightening in shades of seafoam and turquoise. The glistening tones rippled in soft waves.
“You sure this isn’t water?” Valerie asked. “I know I said I wanted to go caving, but not like this.”
“It’s not water, Valerie. It’s the entrance to a wormhole. A portal for moving between dimensions. Between galaxies,” Xavier assured.
The shimmering stilled until the illusion of water faded. All that remained was a clear chasm and on the opposite side was the same odd landscape she saw when she spoke with Camille.
“Okay, people.” Gerri’s voice crackled. “Go! JUMP!”
Valerie sucked in a breath, squelching the urge to plug her nose. She squeezed Arin and Xavier’s hands, but fear gripped her last minute and she balked.
“I can’t do this.” She looked from one to the other. “I can’t. What was I thinking?”
Arin grabbed both her shoulders. “Look at me, love. Keep your eyes on me.”
She nodded. “Do it. Drill that wormhole.”
“Ooh, baby!” He grinned and slipped his arms around her waist. Xavier did the same, locking her between them. “Making it dirty! I love it.”
She chuckled. “That’s all you, big guy. Tall, dark and dirty!”
She tucked her head into the hollow at Arin’s throat, squeezing her eyes closed as they jumped. Gravity kicked in and the temperature plummeted as a dense force pulled them into the mouth of the wormhole. The transport seemed to disappear, simply vanishing around them.
There was no sound, only the dim sensation of being held suspended. “This isn’t as bad as I thought,” she said, snuggling in deeper between them.
“Hold that thought, love,” Xavier whispered. “You’re gonna need it.”
That vague feeling of hanging weightless shifted as the air thickened. It whooshed suddenly, swirling in mini-cyclones, hurtling them faster and faster.
“Slip and slide. Remember?”
“Not funny, Arin,” she ground out.
The air thickened more and more until the pressure made it hard to breath. Panic raced through her veins, suffocating her even more.
“Heavy. Crushing,” Valerie choked out.
Arin tightened his grip as they hurtled faster and faster. “That’s my huge dick, love. I can’t help it. Not with you all up on me like this.”
“Ha! Liar. It’s my giant balls. The pressure makes them even bigger and you can’t stand that mine are better.”
Valerie burst out laughing and the crushing pressure eased almost immediately despite the intense speed.
“How much longer?” she asked, feeling a little sick.
Before either could answer, the wormhole shook, rattling their bones as they hurtled through the last of it. They slowed, and the air thinned gradually, as did her feeling of vertigo.
When the atmosphere stabilized, the whirlpools and eddies disappeared until they were perfectly still and the ground solidified beneath their feet.
Valerie lifted her head as the transport materialized around them again. She blinked, dragging in a quick breath as she took inventory of her body.
“That was one crazy ass ride!” Arin said, loosening his grip around her waist, but not letting go.
Xavier chuckled, and the feeling against her back made her want to relax into his chest.
“You in one piece?” he asked.
She nodded, craning around to look at him. “I think so. You?”
“Oh, love. There are parts of me that have never been better.” He chuckled again, flattening his palms against her belly and pulling her back against the hard bar of his erection.
She laughed. “Oh my God. And I thought you were trying to stop me from panicking.”
“We were,” Arin replied. “Think of it as a fringe benefit.”
She nodded, suddenly aware of how small she was compared to them. “Uhm, you can let me go now. Gerri’s probably going to open the doors any second.”
“Actually, no.” Gerri’s voice chimed in over the intercom. “Apparently, the gate apparatus damaged the transport capsule upon arrival. Unfortunately, you three are going to be stuck for a little while.”
Valerie blinked, her chest suddenly tight. “How long is a little while?”
“Just breathe, dear. You’re not alone. There’s plenty of oxygen piped in, so there’s nothing to worry about. Think of it as forced together time. Use it wisely.”
An audible click told them she had turned the intercom off. Arin and Xavier both took a step back.
“It’s okay, Valerie. Really.” Arin peeled his backpack from his shoulders. “I packed provisions.”
He put the pack on the floor and knelt to unzip the top. Reaching in, he pulled out handfuls of individual-sized Nutty Buddies, Oreos, chocolate chip cookies, potato chips, Fritos and six bottle of water.
“All my favs,” he said with a grin.
Xavier slipped off his jacket and spread it on the floor, and nodding, Arin did the same. “What’s better than a junk food picnic while stuck in an elevator?” Xavier teased.
She gave them a close-lipped smile and unzipped her sweat jacket, adding it to their makeshift picnic blanket.
“Well, at least it’s not stifling in here,” she said, adjusting the straps to her camisole.
Xavier licked his lips as his eyes moved from her face to the soft swell of her breasts inside her tiny shirt. “You’re beautiful, Valerie,” he murmured.
His gaze was so intense that heat crawled from the top of her breasts to her cheeks.
“You’re embarrassed. Don’t be.” He took a step closer and closed his eyes and inhaled. A soft groan rumbled at the back of his throat. “Your scent is driving me crazy. You’re intoxicating.”
She backed up a step only to back into a hard wall of male shifter. Arin was behind her.
“Why am I intoxicating to you? Look at you. Both. You’re every woman’s fantasy.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
Xavier’s eyes changed to yellow gold streaked with green, the same as she saw in the mirror in Camille’s bedroom.
“We might be every woman’s fantasy, Valerie, but there’s only one woman who tantalizes us, and that’s you,” he replied.
Arin slid his hands up her bare arms to her shoulders and moved her hair to one side. One finger caressed the tender flesh beneath her ear, tracing the soft dip to her collarbone. “I’ve had a permanent hard-on since I walked into that townhouse yesterday. All I can think about is you. Your smell. The feel of your skin. The way your mouth would taste.”
Xavier nodded. “If your pussy would taste as good as it smelled when I kissed you and your panties went slick in your friend’s bedroom.”
Her eyes widened. They could smell that?
Xavier’s lips curled and he nodded again. “We’re shifters, love. You were as aroused as we and if Arin hadn’t ruined it, we would have tasted you already.”
Their words sent shivers down her spine and wetness pooling between her legs.
“Yes.” Arin let his hand drift lower to cup her breast through the thin fabric. He flicked her nipple with his thumb and the soft peak stiffened.
Xavier stepped so close she felt his body heat. Her breath stilled in her chest. She licked her lips, swallowing down on the knot in her throat. He cupped her cheeks and lifted her face. He kissed her hungry and hard, his tongue swiping the seam of her lips, demanding she open.
This was what she wanted. Had wanted since the moment she laid eyes on them. If Arin hadn’t gone all tall, dark and scary and freaked her out, she would have spread herself wide for them both. Gerri would have been so proud.
She pulled back, breaking Xavier’s kiss and startling Arin. “Gerri,” she said. “The intercom. I know we heard it snick off, but that doesn’t mean we’re not broadcasting our captive sexcapade to the rest of the space hub.”
“Arin, will you do the honors?” Xavier asked.
He stepped back and stretched toward the ceiling, reaching it easily. He pressed a nondescript panel and when it opened, ripped the entire sound system from its jack and tossed it to the corner of the capsule.
“Done.” Wiping his hands on his pants, he shrugged. “They have to fix the door anyway, so.” He slipped in behind Valerie again and bent to kiss her throat. “Where was I? Oh yeah—”
He cupped her breast again, but this time slipped his other hand around as well, palming the full weight of the other, too. Feathering kisses along her neck, he nipped the back of her ear. “Your tits fit my hands so perfectly. I wonder if your pussy will as well.” His chest rose and fell. His breathing was heavier, and his desire sent hers skyrocketing.
Xavier hooked his fingers into her waistband and folded them over twice, letting his fingertips delve below to brush the top of her mound.
She reached for his cock, but he shook his head. “Right now it’s all about you, Valerie. This captive sexcapade, as you called it. It’s our gift, and it’s all for you, love.”
Xavier kissed her again, claiming her mouth, and tiny explosions thundered in her chest. She sighed into his kiss and deepened it, swiping his tongue into her mouth, demanding more.
Arin was gliding his finger from her breasts to her waist and the around to her ass. He finished what Xavier started, rolling her sweat pants down to her knees. His palms cupped her ass as he guided her pants to her ankles, gently helping her step out of them one leg at a time.
Xavier broke their kiss and pushed her legs apart. He went down on his knees and pushed her pussy lips apart, flicking her clit with the tip of his tongue.
She raised her hands to his hair, gripping the long, blond mass in her fists. Tension coiled in her belly and her sex throbbed. She wanted them. Their bodies filling hers. She spread her legs even more, giving him full access.
Arin glided his hands over her ass again, spreading her cheeks. He tongued her hole, slipping his fingers into her wet slit as Xavier sucked her clit, biting and teasing.
She gasped, grinding her sex deeper into Xavier’s mouth. With a growl, he let go, scooping her up only to lay her down on their mingled jackets.
“Spread yourself for us, love. Spread your pretty, pink pussy and tease your slit,” Arin said.
She shook her head, letting her fingers trail slowly over her belly. “Nope. I’ll only do me, if you do you. I want to watch you jerk off. I know you said this is all about me, but if you want me to come hard, then you are going to let me taste you, too.”
She wanted to wrap her mouth around Xavier’s cock and watch him slide balls deep between her lips while her hand squeezed every last delicious drop from Arin.
“I want to fuck you, beautiful.” Xavier said. “Arin wants you, too, but that’s not going to happen yet.”
Arin slipped between her knees and pushed them wider, licking her from ass to clit. “So wet. So hot.”
His fingers curled into her slick cleft, two then three. His tongue circled her clit and he bit down.
She hissed, arching her back to grind her pussy further into his palm.
Xavier knelt beside her and took her mouth. Kissing her deep and hungry. He sucked on her tongue, pushing his own into her mouth, thrusting, and snarling. He growled deep in his chest and her body flamed.
Her body all but crumbled with the heat of his kisses. He peeled her camisole from her shoulders freeing her tits, and cupped them each, working her nipples hard.
Valerie gasped, ripping her mouth from his, but he wouldn’t relent. Xavier dragged his tongue over the soft swells, taking her hard peaks into his mouth while Arin sucked her pussy.
She rode Arin’s palm, grinding hard. Her walls convulsed, clamping his hand as her climax exploded. She bucked her hips, crashing pleasure juddered her body boneless. No thought pierced her haze as she came over and over.
They squeezed every exquisite drop from her until she slumped back onto the floor. Arin licked her juice from his hand, wiping his mouth on his forearm.
“You are as delicious as any dessert,” he smacked his lips and then cuddled in beside her.
Xavier spooned her opposite side, each tracing the curve of her breasts.
“You okay?” Xavier asked when she stayed silent.
Valerie inhaled, nodding. “Just don’t ask me to make any big decisions. Elvis has left the building and he took my brain with him.” She chuckled.
They each leaned in, taking her mouth for a gentle kiss one at a time. “Do you think you’d like to do this with us again?” Arin asked. “Like maybe for the rest of your life?”
Valerie’s half-mast eyes snapped open. “Uhm, what?”
Xavier exhaled, shaking his head. “What have I said about caution, not caveman?”
Valerie scooted up, not caring she was naked and they were fully dressed. “Are you two saying what I think you’re saying?”
The dragon was out of the bag already, so Xavier dragged in a quick breath and nodded. “You already know we’re the alpha and omega of the Gemini, and that our mate has eluded us our whole lives.”
She nodded.
Arin continued, “Until now.” He picked up her hand and kissed it. “You complete us, Valerie, if you accept.”
She looked from one to another. “You mean I have a choice? It’s not some written in the stars thing?”
Arin shrugged. “It’s written for us.” He rolled up his shirt sleeve and showed her the curved tattoo mark on his forearm.
She ran a finger over the raised symbol. It felt swollen, embossed. “It looks like a talon,” she said, lifting her eyes to his.
He nodded. “That’s because it is a talon. It’s the mark an alpha and an omega receive when they find their true mate.”
Xavier rolled up his sleeve as well. His mark was the mirror image of Arin’s. A Gemini image.
“If you were a Gemini by birth, you’d have one, too,” Arin added. “If you choose to be complete our triad and be our mate, there’s a ritual that binds us to you and you to us. After that you will carry the mark.”
She nodded but didn’t say a word. Instead she reached for her pants and shoved her feet through the pant legs, wiggling them over her hips and up to her waist as she thought.
Straightening her camisole into place, she then sat back and looked at the two. “I have one question before I even consider this.” She paused, eyeing them both. “Why do you hate the Dragos so much?”