Precious Cargo (3 page)

Chapter Six

When Kal finally finished the repairs on the ship from their altercation with the pirates and made his way to the med bay, he was exhausted. He just wanted to plot a course home and sleep for hours.

“What’s going on? I’m in desperate need of a shower and a bed,” he said to Tannen as he walked up to the doctor and playfully smacked him on the ass with a wink.

Tannen jumped, of course, and then tried to give Kal a disapproving look. The serious doctor always jumped. It was one of the things that Kal and Conn loved most about their third. He loved to play hard to get, and they loved to chase him.

“This is serious, Kal,” Tannen said at the same time Kal heard Conn’s deep laugh on the other side of the room.

“You’re always serious, T,” Kal said, walking over to the bed where his Captain seemed to be tangled up with the little female they'd rescued from the Warg ship. “Hey, did you guys have a party without me? Looks like you exhausted her and I missed all the fun.”

“Shh, you’ll wake her,” Conn whispered. “There was no party, but our little guest has developed some issues from the virus.”

“Damn, is she all right?” Kal sobered quickly, taking a closer look at the female. She looked so small lying there in Conn’s arms.

“I hope so,” Tannen answered. “She’s developed some sort of contact dependency, and when the symptoms begin, her vitals go haywire and she is in a great deal of pain.”

“So what, she needs to be touching someone all the time?” Kal asked, hoping that wasn’t the case. What kind of life could someone have with that kind of issue?

“Well, when we get her home to Dolak, I’m certain the medics will be able to get a better idea, but from what I can ascertain so far, extended periods of contact will have a lasting effect but eventually will wear off,” Tannen explained. “When she begins to feel the symptoms, she will have to renew contact with us.”

“Go have your shower, Kal,” Conn said from the bed. “You’re on rest shift next so you’ll take my place so I can get us on a course back to Dolak immediately.”

Kal looked back at his Captain and bond mate lying very still on the small bed next to the female. He knew he’d never get any sleep like that.

“Can I take her to our quarters?” he asked, looking to Tannen to approve the move from the med bay. “You know I can’t sleep all cramped up like that.”

“That should be fine, Kal. I’ll just give her a monitor so the computer will track her vitals,” the doctor answered as he attached a small bracelet around her wrist.

Kal went and quickly had a shower, and when he returned to the med bay, Alison was awake and curled up in Tannen’s lap as he explained to her how the language translator that the Wargs implanted her with worked. She looked so sweet and innocent sitting there, her big green eyes going wide when she asked him to pull up a picture of what the Wargs looked like on the computer screen.

“I remember seeing one after the first time I woke up in that cell,” she said in a terrified voice. “But just for a moment, then I think I fainted.”

“They are rather ugly little beasties, aren’t they?” Kal asked as he walked up beside them and gave Alison a flirty smile.

“Oh, hello,” she said with a shy smile back. “You must be Kallen. I’m Alison.”

“Hello, sweet Ali,” he answered as he took her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it before Tannen snorted in laughter and ruined the moment.

When he gave the doctor a dirty look and turned back to Alison, her face had gone a deep red as she blushed, and he found it rather adorable.

“Don’t mind him, love,” Kal said, as he blew Tannen a quick kiss. “He’s just the possessive type and doesn’t always like sharing his toys.”

****

Alison’s eyes went wide when Kal’s words registered in her mind, and she quickly formed a picture of these two men together. The third member of their crew seemed to be younger than the doctor or the captain, and Kal was obviously the carefree charmer of the group. He was just as large as Conn, but had almost a silver-toned skin and his shoulder length hair was a deep grey with beautiful waves of curl that almost made her envious. When he smiled at her and two dimples appeared in his cheeks, she swore her heart stopped for a moment. He was literally one of the most beautiful men she had ever laid eyes on.

“Yes, that’s me…” Tannen answered, rolling his eyes at the other man.

He was interrupted by Kal’s loud sigh. “Don’t fret, love. I accept that you and Conn are terrified that my beauty will inspire others to lure me away. But luckily for you both, you’re so talented between the sheets that I could never live without you.”

Kal punctuated his statement with a wink at Ali that had her laughing along with him and Tannen groaning in embarrassment.

“So … you all three are together?” she asked, when her curiosity finally got the better of her.

“We are bond mates, yes,” Tannen answered as he stood and placed her back on the bed. “Does that bother you?”

“No, of course not,” she answered honestly.

Did that bother her? Certainly not in any way she was sure he meant by the question. The thought of all three of these handsome aliens naked and doing dirty things did have her heart rate increasing. But damn, why did all of the hottest men turn out to be gay? There went all the fantasies she’d been having for the last half hour sitting in Tannen’s lap. When she woke up with Conn’s strong body wrapped around her, it was difficult to not let her hands wander while his delicious scent teased her nose. While Tannen smelled like warm sandalwood, the strong Captain had more of a fresh outdoors scent that she couldn’t seem to get enough of, and she wondered absently what Kal’s scent would remind her of.

Chapter Seven

“Time for another nap I think, love. I can see your concentration is drifting,” Kal said as he came forward and plucked her off of the medical bed and held her in his arms.

“Oh. Sorry, I don’t know why I’m so tired,” she answered with a yawn and another adorable blush.

“Your body is learning to adjust to this new need for contact we discussed, Alison,” Tannen said as he followed them to the door. “Kal is going to take you to our quarters so you can both stretch out on a normal size bed and get a proper rest. Just remember what we talked about. You should be fine as long as you’re with one of us, but if anything feels odd, come and find me.”

“Okay.” She nodded towards the doctor. “Thank you, Tannen.”

Alison was content to lie cradled in Kal’s arms as he carried her down the hall to the alien's bedroom. When he opened the door, she was surprised at how large it was, like a small apartment.

“Wow, this place is huge. I have to admit I assumed that rooms on a spaceship would be tiny and only have like a bed and a chair or something,” she said as he walked into the bedroom, which had an enormous low bed in the middle of the room that was calling to her.

“This ship is designed for a crew of bonded mates, so there is no need for more than a couple of living quarters. We were lucky enough to get assigned to a new ship when we first earned our trade commission. We’ve had the
Noma
for almost a decade now,” he answered as he pulled back the bedding and laid her down.

The mattress and pillows seemed to be some kind of memory gel, and Alison almost groaned from the pleasure when she sank into it. When she looked back up at Kal, he was pulling his shirt over his head to reveal the most beautiful, muscular chest she’d ever seen, and she had to swallow another groan of appreciation.

Good grief.
He looked like molten metal, his silver skin reflecting the small amount of light leaking in from the living room. She couldn’t take her eyes from him, and she blushed furiously when he stripped off his pants next, leaving him only in his underwear as he climbed into the bed beside her.

“I love it when you blush, little Ali,” he said with a low chuckle. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything lovelier than the color slowly moving along your skin, it’s quite captivating.”

“Sorry,” she squeaked out. “I didn’t mean to stare … but your skin. It’s just so beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Kal didn’t say anything for a moment. Then finally, he just turned her around and pulled her close as he wrapped his arms around her.

“I’m glad you like it, Ali,” he answered softly. “On Dolak, where we come from, the sun moves farther away from our planet every year. Every species on our surface has evolved over time to retain and collect heat as effectively as possible. Our people have varied skin tones, but the darker pigments are viewed as most genetically desirable. My particular metallic hue is considered a birth defect by my people, so thank you for saying that.”

Alison couldn’t believe it. Her heart broke for Kal thinking that others would judge him by his skin color. With the technology his race clearly had, it’s not like they were walking around the planet naked, relying on their skin tone to survive, but clearly there were ignorant bigots all across the universe.

“I think you’re one of the most attractive men I’ve ever seen, Kal. I can’t imagine anyone thinking otherwise,” she said, pulling his arms tighter around her, glad that she wasn’t facing him because she didn’t think she could’ve said something so direct if she had to watch his reaction.

“Oh, there’s plenty of males and females alike that enjoy a taste of the forbidden for a night or two. Especially when I come with males like Conn and Tannen, but when it comes to a permanent mating contract to complete our bond group, their bias becomes clear,” he continued, sounding rather jaded and maybe a little bit sad. “Before we bonded, I warned them that it would be difficult finding a permanent female to contract with us if my genetics were in the mix, but they’ve always been stubborn, those two.”

She was almost asleep when that information was finally absorbed by her sluggish brain. Had he just said they were looking for a woman to complete their bond group? Holy crap, so they were bisexual? And just like that, her inappropriate thoughts were running rampant once again, and Alison had to silently chastise herself for thinking like a horny teenager when Kal obviously needed a friend and some emotional support.

“They clearly love you a great deal,” she answered as she slowly turned around in his arms so she was facing him. “I’m certain that the right woman would love you for who you are, and not what you have in your genetic makeup, Kal.”

He smiled sweetly at her, moving his hand up to cup her cheek.

“You’re a very wise female, Alison. I hope that you are correct,” he said before another frown crossed his features. “Conn’s mother has been in negotiations with a female on Dolak for several years to contract with us, but I don’t believe that Shara is the correct female for us. Perhaps you can help me talk some reason into Conn and Tannen about her.”

Alison didn’t know why she suddenly felt sick when Kal mentioned that they were practically engaged to be married to another woman. She’d just met them after all, but it bothered her all the same, and she quickly looked away from his eyes before he saw it there.

“Sure, I’ll do what I can,” she answered, before she turned back around in his arms, away from him. “Good night, Kal.”

“Sleep well, Ali.”

Chapter Eight

Kal had just managed to pull himself from the warm bed with the tempting little female in it when Tannen quietly walked into the bedroom.

“Is she still sleeping?” Tannen whispered when he saw Kal getting dressed. “Her vitals were steady all night. The contact seems to be working.”

“Well, her vitals may have been steady, but mine were all over the place. It’s been some time since we’ve had the softness of a female in our bed,” Kal answered, looking back at Ali, “and she is quite tempting.”

“I agree with you on that, Kal. There is something so sweet and delicate about her,” Tannen said, looking to the woman still asleep in their bed. “She isn’t like our females.”

“Why don’t you come over here and help me with
my
vitals, Doctor?” Kal gave the other man a seductive smile as his hand moved lower to stroke over his still-hard cock which had been torturing him all night.

“Behave, we don’t want to wake Ali,” Tannen said, laughing quietly as he removed his shirt and pants.

“Are you expecting us to remain celibate for the entire trip home, love?” Kal’s low voice teased as he moved in and stole a quick kiss from the other male. “You know how cranky I get when you tell me no.”

“I think we can, at least, restrain ourselves while Ali is sleeping in our bed,” Tannen laughed and kissed him back. “That would be the polite thing to do while she is in our care, would it not?”

“Maybe the polite thing to do would be to ask if she wants to join in?” Kal answered with a wink, pulling away with a sigh when it became clear that Tannen’s attention was suddenly pulled back to Ali at Kal’s suggestion.

Oh yes, the good doctor was definitely thinking about it now!

That was exactly what he’d planned by planting the idea in their adorable mate’s head. Their bond mate was a brilliant doctor, but he could be quite dense sometimes. After spending one single night with sweet Ali in his arms, Kal just knew that there was no point in wasting any more time with Shara and her cold emotions. Kal wanted more from a binding contract. He wanted a family, and he wanted love. There had been many things holding the three of them back from bonding with Shara over the years, but the most important one was that they didn’t love her. And if they were going to be honest with themselves, they knew that she simply wanted access to their funds and the social status that came with being the bond mate of high ranking officers in the Trade Corps.

Alison was everything that their females weren’t. She was sweet and supportive, and Tannen had already confirmed that she was compatible for mating with their own DNA. He was certain that it wouldn’t take long for both the dense lovable doctor and their fearless leader to figure out that she might just be the perfect female for them.

****

Ali came awake when all the blankets slowly inched across her body, causing her to look over her shoulder. She almost laughed when she saw how Tannen had rolled over and wrapped himself up like a burrito in the covers as he still slept. Her belly started to grumble, so she decided she’d get up and find some breakfast since the boys had already done their shift change without waking her.

She remembered Kal pointing out the bridge yesterday on their way from the medical bay and by some miracle managed to make her way back there, relieved to find Conn sitting in front of a large computer.

“Good morning,” she said, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious of how she looked. She’d just pilfered a long shirt and some socks out of the closet in their room when she woke up, taking the first thing that she found so she didn’t make too much noise and wake Tannen as he slept.

“Good morning, little one,” Conn said with a warm smile as he looked up. “How was your rest?”

“Great, I feel pretty good actually,” Ali answered just as her stomach let out another loud growl making her blush. “Well, I’m ready for breakfast, I guess.”

“Good, that makes two of us. Come with me, lovely,” he said as he jumped up from the chair and scooped her up off her feet.

“I can walk, Conn,” she said, as she wiggled for him to put her down.

“You have no shoes, Ali. Those socks can’t be enough to keep your tiny feet warm while walking around the ship.” Conn walked down the hall for a few moments and then they entered a door not far from where she recognized the entrance to the med bay.

Alison wasn’t going to argue with him. The floors
were
rather chilly, after all. But more than that, she was simply enjoying the feel of being in his arms. Between yesterday and last night, this was more contact with another person than she’d had in years, and Ali was eating it up like she was a kid in a candy store. Sure, somewhere in the back of her mind she knew it was taking advantage of the situation, just a little.

But dammit,
she
was the victim here, right? Some horrible aliens had stolen her from her home and infected her with only God knows what, so shouldn’t she enjoy a little stolen comfort from her handsome rescuers? Alison could only assume that once they’d made it back home to Dolak that they would drop her off at whatever the equivalent to a “pound” was, or wherever they usually dropped off the lost-and-found aliens, and be on their way either back into space or off to find their fourth bond mate.

She frowned to herself at the bad feeling that rose in her tummy at the thought of these males leaving her behind. Was she really that clingy? Gosh, she needed to dial that back if one night of sleeping in their arms was affecting her so much already. It was only occurring to her now that in all the years she’d been single, the simple things most people took for granted were the ones she’d missed the most. Like having someone there at the end of a bad day to just give you a comforting hug, or having someone to hold you as you slept.

“What is
that
?” she asked as Conn placed a plate full of black and grey on the table before her. “Is this your first time cooking or something?”

He just laughed at her and gave her a wink as he brought his own fork up to his lips and took a bite of what she could only imagine was a completely charred piece of meat.

“You aren’t the first non-Dolakian to find our food rather odd, Ali. On our planet, everything that grows on the surface tends to be black or grey, including our food,” he answered, still eating in between words. “Just try it. I’m certain it will surprise you.”

And it did surprise her, as she took her first tentative mouthful only to be shocked at the flavor of something fruity hitting her palate. Alison realized then that she’d better learn to reserve her judgment on a lot of things, that and be ready to get surprised because she had a feeling there was going to be a lot of that happening in her life from now on.