you are ours and under our protection.”
“I thought you said you were my second.”
Trax offered the slightest of shrugs. “As Surnen is not here to be your primary mate, I have petitioned the Prime to grant me that right.”
What was he talking about? What right?
Trax pulled something from his uniform and held it out. It was the collar he spoke about, and it was identical to the ones I’d seen around Rachel’s and Kristin’s necks. But this one was black, metallic, but… not. It was made of some unidentifiable metal. I had no idea how it stayed about one’s neck as there was no clasp, but it was an alien thing, so I took it from his hand to have a closer look.
“It’s like a wedding ring, but around the neck?”
He looked up, frowned. “I do not know about this ring you speak of, but it is an outward sign that you belong to your mates. Does this… marriage ring form a bond between mates on Earth? Does it form a psychic connection and link your emotions?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“How do your males keep their mates happy if they cannot share emotions?”
“They don’t.” That was a bit rude to all men on Earth, and I heard the bitterness in my voice. Space aliens had no idea what beach bums and surfers considered a relationship. “Well, some of them do. But it’s not easy. They have to work at it.” My father was a case in point. Very traditional. A surgeon. My mother put up with his stern attitude and alpha-male bullshit and had for more than thirty years. I didn’t understand their bond, but I was grateful for it. Their relationship wasn’t perfect, but it was solid. I’d never been one of those kids who worried about dealing with a divorce.
“Prepare yourself, mate. You may be surprised by the power of the bond we will share.”
“All right.” As surprises went, I doubted it could compete with transporting to an alien planet and giving myself to a complete stranger or two. Not just a normal stranger, but an alien. Did they even have all the same equipment?
“How do I put it on?”
“First you must accept our claim and grant us thirty days to win your heart.”
“You say ‘our,’ but I haven’t met both of you. The doctor was my primary mate, but now he’s not?”
“As I said, he is not here, and I have filed a formal claim to be your primary male. He shall be my second.”
Ooookaaay. I hadn’t even met my match, so it was pretty hard to agree to anything. First, second, it didn’t matter.
The warden had said I could leave, and I trusted her word. She was too serious about this whole process to lie to me. She’d been human. Rachel, Kristin and Lindsey seemed happy here. I really had nothing to lose. And this guy? He wasn’t so bad.
Besides, I really wanted to get out of this room and maybe get some clothes on. I’d expected to be met by my mate and claimed by a big alien hunk who was so hot for me he couldn’t wait to kiss me and tell me exactly how perfect and beautiful I was. Instead I’d been met by practically everyone on the base except my mate.
Although I couldn’t do Trax a disservice. He’d been here. He was here, kneeling before me with a collar. He didn’t know anything about me and had said that he was mine, not the other way around. I was being claimed by a big alien. He was definitely sexy as hell. I had to give him that.
“I accept your claim, Trax. You’ve got your thirty days.” I wasn’t going to say the other guy’s name. It started with an S? I wasn’t sure. All I knew was that the other alien, my mate, was working. I’d heard that line my entire life from my father. Always too busy for his wife and daughter. Always more important things to do. Always busy trying to save the world.
My father loved me in his own way. I knew he did, even though he and Mom hadn’t had my back when I’d gotten arrested. Yeah, that had burned. Still did. Before that, though, it would have been nice to have been placed first in line for his attention without feeling petty and small about it. I knew he saved lives. What was a school play or surfing competition compared to doing surgery on someone who would die without help? Hadn’t he known I’d been helping others, too. Whales weren’t human, though. To him, it didn’t count.
“You honor me, female,” he vowed, then stood to his towering height. The smile on his face told me he was pleased. “I will protect you and see to your happiness. You have my word.”
So formal. Would he be like that when we were…
No. I couldn’t go there. Not yet. The huge bulging of a rock-hard cock was clearly visible behind his uniform pants. I couldn’t miss it with his height and my shortness. My eye level was practically right there. He was hot for me. He wasn’t denying it. He wasn’t trying to hide it.
He was proud of it.
This hunk was all mine. But only one of them? Why was I disappointed? I’d never even thought about being with two men before taking that stupid bride matching test. The dream had been insane, and it had made me come harder than I ever had in real life. The experience made me realize that being between two men was something that made me hot. Especially if one of them was Trax. I had a gorgeous male pledging to be mine forever, and I was bummed out?
Stupid. Clearly I was being an idiot. Daddy issues be damned. Maybe the transport had scrambled my emotions. If I said it had been a long day, that was an understatement. There weren’t that many women who woke up in a prison cell, were driven to the Bride Processing Center, tested and transported light-years away to be handed off to an alien who basically owned her. And all before dinner.
“So, um… what do I do? Just put it around my neck?” I asked, lifting the collar up between us.
“I am happy to assist.” Trax moved behind me. Just like in some kind of romantic movie, I held onto the blanket with one hand and lifted my long black hair off my shoulders with the other to give him access.
“You are so beautiful, mate.” Those gentle fingers traced a path from shoulder to neck and back again, and my pussy clenched with heat. God, he was lethal all by himself, and he’d only touched me with his fingertips. Maybe this would be okay after all.
If Rachel, Lindsey and Kristin thought Trax was an asshole, I doubted they’d have left me with him.
He reached around, and I felt a slight tingle in my skin as the dark collar touched my neck.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the transport room door slide open. “Do not dare, Trax. I am here and she is mine.”
The voice was deep and demanding, seemingly used to giving orders and being obeyed. Trax froze momentarily, then leaned close to whisper in my ear. “Your primary male has appeared. I have taunted the beast, mate. Do not fear. Now we shall both enjoy his fury.”
I didn’t know what he meant, but I stared, wide-eyed as the large alien male came to stand before me. Like Trax, he was tall. Like Trax, he had angular features and was drop-dead gorgeous. That was where the similarities ended. He wore a dark gray cape, the color of pressed steel, with bare feet showing beneath the hem. What I could see of him was golden from head to toe, like a lion. Golden hair, golden skin, eyes a pale
