Precious Cargo (8 page)

Chapter Nineteen

It was almost a full twenty-four hours later and Alison still hadn’t woken, but her vital signs were getting steadier, which made Tannen hopeful that she would come back to them. Kal and Conn had been taking shifts holding her as she slept.

“Doctor Drogan, I’ve been going over your notes, and I think I may have a theory on what has been happening with Alison,” the young but capable doctor interrupted him as he reviewed the latest lab results. “You’d begun a comparison on the patient's DNA with that of the original Seria 9 species, noting that they had many similarities. I’ve done some research, and it seems as though their species identifies their mates though pheromone detection, and once mated it was for life. Since the virus appears to have made Alison contact dependant, I believe her body developed a pheromone lock onto the three of you when you began treatment on your ship and that is why the contact therapy failed with other males. She kept screaming that he ‘smelled wrong’ when we tried it. I’m not certain how advanced the Earth species’ olfactory senses are, but her brain could just have been picking up on a pheromone match and that was its way of translating the information into something she could identify.”

Tannen thought back to the time they'd spent with Alison when she’d first come on board their ship. There had been a few times that she’d mentioned how good they had smelled to her. He hadn’t given it much thought, but that would explain it, perhaps.

“I think that may be exactly what has happened, Doctor Bard, well done.” Tannen grinned up at the younger man.

“Tannen, Commander Vaughn has confirmed that he’s extended our regrets to Shara about the contract.” Conn came to sit down beside him, looking exhausted.

“I certainly wouldn’t have envied him that job,” Tannen said with a small smile before he yawned and rubbed his eyes.

“You haven’t rested for more than a day, love.” Conn looked at him with concern. “You take the next shift resting with Ali and try to get some sleep. You can’t do her any good if you fall ill yourself.”

“Is that an order, Captain?” Tannen teased his mate, even though he was exhausted beyond thought.

“Yes,” his mate answered, as he leaned in to give him a gentle kiss before he rose, pulling Tannen’s hand. “Now come, I’ll tuck you both in.”

It was the middle of the night, and the only other staff remaining in the area was there to care for other patients so it was very quiet. He stripped down to his underwear and climbed into the spot still warm from where Kal had been sleeping beside Alison. Conn had asked for cots to be brought in as well, so none of them had to leave or sleep in chairs for the evening. Tannen wrapped his arms tight around Ali and finally closed his eyes, letting his body rest.

****

Alison slowly came awake to the most glorious scent of warm male and sandalwood teasing her nose as she rubbed it against the soft skin.

“Mmm, Tannen,” she whispered sleepily, as she let her hands wander down the length of his naked back, but when he tensed under her fingers, she reluctantly opened her eyes.

“Am I still in the hospital?” she asked, realizing that she was naked under the thin blanket as young Doctor Bard came barreling into the room.

“You’re awake,” Tannen said with a smile, as he hugged her so tight she couldn’t breathe for a moment.

“Doctor Drogan! Alison’s vitals are almost completely normal. You’ve done it.” The young doctor was almost jumping up and down in his excitement.

She was still enjoying her hug from Tannen while trying to keep the sheet at a decent level when Conn and Kal came running in the room. Seeing their faces light up when they saw her made her heart skip a tiny beat as she smiled back shyly.

“Alison!” Kal exclaimed, as he scooped her out of Tannen’s arms and held her tight while Conn came up behind her and sandwiched her between them. “We were so worried.”

Ali squealed a bit as she felt the sheet drop to the floor, and she realized she was now naked in their embrace in front of the rest of the staff in the room.

“Doctor, avert your gaze from our mate,” Tannen growled from behind them, which had her looking over her shoulder at the young doctor, who was now staring at the ground with a mortified expression on his face.

“My apologies, Clan Drogan,” he stammered. “Her skin is just so luminous, it’s almost hypnotizing. I’ll leave you alone and go update her charts.”

Alison almost laughed at such an aggressive tone coming from the usually calm and collected doctor, and then suddenly she realized that Tannen had referred to her as
their mate
. Her head snapped up to look at Kal in front of her, and he smiled, raising his eyebrows as if to dare her to object to their claiming.

“Really?” she whispered. “But what about Shara?”

“All of our ties to Shara have now been dissolved and we will be contracting with you, Alison,” Conn growled from behind her, making a shiver of awareness run down her spine at the dominance in his tone.

“Are you sure?” she started as excitement began to bubble up inside at the thought of spending her life with these men. “What about—your jobs?”

“Of course, we’re sure, Ali. You are the mate of our hearts, and we will never let you go again,” Kal interrupted her, right before he took her mouth in a gentle but thorough kiss that left her breathless and squirming in his arms.

When both Conn and Tannen confirmed their agreement, it was the most wonderful thing she’d ever heard in her entire life.

Chapter Twenty

Alison was excited that she’d be getting released today and she could finally go home with her new clan mates. The kind, young Doctor Bard had insisted that she stay at least a full twenty-four hours after her vitals had become normal once again, just to assure that her condition was stable.

“I wish you all well in your new bond, and it was most exciting to meet you, Alison.” Doctor Bard gently clasped her hand and then froze as Ali went in for a quick hug that had her new mates grumbling unhappily.

“Sheesh, you guys are so weird about hugs here.” She laughed and then looked at the four men standing as a loud voice drew her attention to outside their room.

“I will speak to Conn Drogan immediately.” a shrill voice echoed down the hallway causing all the men in the vicinity to cringe. “Conn!”

Alison looked towards Conn just as he and his male clan mates exchanged a look of sheer panic.
Good grief
, she thought, trying not to roll her eyes,
what
is
it about this woman that scares them so badly?

She had figured out after having contact with a few other females working here that in Dolak society females were supposed to be soft-spoken and polite, which of course had her thinking back to the first time she’d seen Shara. The woman had been such a complete bitch that Ali could only assume she was an anomaly of bad breeding and no discipline growing up.

When Shara did finally step into the room, her formerly beautiful face was now a twisted mask of rage, and her eyes locked first on Alison, then moved to settle on Conn as she strode up to him.

“Conn Drogan.” She was seething as she began. “My father has just told me the most absurd information. He told me that you and your clan mates have withdrawn your offer of contract due to this—this primitive!”

“Shara, you have no right…” Kal began to confront the horrid woman, and she looked as though he’d slapped her right in the face.

“How
dare
you even speak to me!” she yelled, her fists balling in anger as she stared at Kal with utter hatred. “You’re nothing but an unclaimed mongrel. Conn should never have even considered claiming you to begin with, and now look at the ruin you have led him to!”

The entire floor of the medical center seemed to stop with her ugly words. Alison’s anger began to fill her to an uncontrollable level. It was one thing for this bitch to say nasty things about her—that she could handle. But to say such awful things about one of the most caring and wonderful men she’d ever met?
I don’t fucking
think
so
.

“Listen up, bitch.” Ali stepped closer to the woman and tried to control her rage. “Don’t you ever even
speak
to Kal again, or so help me God I will rip your fucking face off! You’re not even worthy of touching the same ground he walks on, let alone worthy of being with any of these men.”

Ali took a few seconds to breathe so she didn’t launch herself at the now gaping Shara, her eyes getting wider as she realized that Alison would protect what was hers.

“They are mine, so you can just take your skinny, bitch ass back out the door.” Alison finished with a threatening step towards her, causing the other woman to stumble back and catch herself before she turned tail and fled the room.

Alison watched her run with a deep sense of satisfaction, giving herself a mental high-five. This was the first time in her entire life that Ali had stood up for herself or anyone else to an awful, cruel bully. And she had to admit to herself that she fucking loved the way it felt. She turned back around to face the men and stopped cold when she saw the expressions of shock on their faces.

Oh, crap. Have I just caused an interstellar incident or something?

****

Kal just stood there in utter shock and stared at the goddess in front of him. Had Ali really just threatened Shara with physical harm if she ever spoke to him again? No one, not even Conn or Tannen, had ever put Shara in her place for her treatment of Kal. He understood why. Their society was a precarious dance of manners and protocol, and Shara’s family was high up with their influence. It had never been worth the potential fallout to confront her before, especially with Conn’s mother being close family friends with Shara’s mother.

“Umm, I’m sorry.” Ali began to look uncomfortable as she looked around the room at their reaction to the very first female-on-female confrontation any of them had ever witnessed. “I kind of lost my temper there.”

“No, Ali.” Conn finally cleared his throat and stepped up to take her arms, “I should be the one apologizing. I should never have let Shara speak to you or Kal that way, ever.”

Kal saw Alison visibly let out a held breath as she realized they weren’t mad at her behavior and let Conn pull her in for a hug.

“That was…” Tannen stuttered a bit as he reached down to adjust the obvious bulge in his pants, “extremely…”

“Really fucking hot, I’d say,” Kal finished for him as he pulled her out of Conn’s arms and took Ali’s mouth in a kiss that showed her just how much her defense of his honor was appreciated.

They were both panting by the time he released her lips, and all he could think about was getting her out of here and home, especially since a few of the other medical staff had begun to come into the room curious about the disruption and Shara’s terrified exit.

“Can we please take our mate home now, Doctor?” Tannen looked towards Doctor Bard, who was still staring at Alison like she was some kind of super hero.

“I apologize if I shocked you with my behavior, Doctor,” Ali said quietly. “I normally would never act like that.”

“Well.” The man seemed to shake himself out of his stupor and smiled. “She was quite a ghastly female, wasn’t she? I’d say you handled that quite well, Alison, and yes, you may go home now.”

Alison managed to wait until the doctor and the rest of his staff left the room before she broke down into giggles as her men looked at her as if she was insane.

“What is so funny, Ali?” Tannen asked as he helped her put a jacket on.

“I just totally thought you all were going to be mad at me for losing it that way.”

“Mad?” Kal answered with a saucy grin. “Nah, but I did almost come in my pants, if that makes you feel any better.”

“It does.” She tackled Kal for another kiss until he finally picked her up and carried her through the door and out of the room.

Chapter Twenty-One

It felt like it took forever for the men to get Ali checked out of the medical center and on their way home. Kal was excited to show her everything about their planet, but at the moment, he was extremely eager to get her into their bed so he could go over every inch of her and prove to himself that she was okay.

“Wow, everything really is in black and greys around here, huh?” Ali stared out the window of their personal conveyance, watching the landscape pass by in awe.

“Yes, unfortunately, it is,” Conn answered, as he drove them up to the home the three males shared. “But you’ll see when we take you to the marketplace that we have many imported items that are quite coveted and colorful. That is our job. We travel to other planets and pick up items for import.”

“I can’t wait to take you to the market and see your eyes go wide when you discover how many species live on Dolak. I promise there’s much more to it than you can see here.” Kal sounded as excited as a child. Even he could admit it, but he was overwhelmed by the possibilities in their new future. He had the opportunity with Alison to be seen just the same as the rest of his clan, not as some genetic throwback that was an unfortunate package deal with two very desirable males.

“First things first,” Tannen said, as he picked her up and they walked into the large home. “I want to make certain you are one hundred percent better before you begin to explore your new home.”

“Good thinking, Doctor,” Conn agreed, as he led them through the living area and towards what Alison could only assume was their bedroom.

“You guys!” she laughed, trying to look around as they rushed down the hall. “I want to see the house.”

“The house will be the same in a few hours,” Kal answered with a wink, undressing as he walked behind them. “I want to see you naked, my beautiful protector.”

Kal knew he would never tire of the enthralled look Alison got on her face when he took off his clothes. She made him feel like he was the only male in the entire universe, and it was such a gift.

****

As interesting as the alien furniture was, once Kal began to get naked, she couldn’t look anywhere else. He was such a stunning specimen of masculine perfection. Were these men really hers to keep forever? Alison certainly wouldn’t say no if they would accept her. Even if she hadn’t become physically dependant on their touch to survive, her heart would have needed them just the same.

Tannen carefully dropped her onto the huge bed, and she looked around at her new home. The bedroom was gigantic. The bed was in the middle of the room and was larger than a king size back home. Off to the side, there was a beautiful en suite bathroom with an equally huge tub and shower. Everything was made out of some kind of grey stone, done in a rustic style that made it blend in with the lovely garden she could see through the large window above the tub.

Her visual exploration was interrupted by the firm tone of their Captain’s deep voice.

“Tannen, get undressed and lie on your back in the middle of the bed,” Conn commanded, bringing her attention back to the three men staring at her with hungry expressions on their faces.

Alison loved when Conn took control of their lovemaking. He was the ultimate alpha male, and her body grew wet as Tannen lowered his eyes in submission and slowly began to undress. She was so distracted by the lovely pewter color of his skin, she yelped when Conn grabbed the loose pants she’d been given to wear home, and they slipped down her legs, leaving her wearing only the button-up top to cover her.

“Kal, since you once again have a head-start on your clothes, why don’t you help Ali to remove her top?” Conn said, clearly trying not to smile at the fact that Kal had already been naked by the time he’d entered the room.

“Yes, sir,” Kal answered with a leering smile, as he prowled up the bed to where Ali was lying.

The anticipation as Kal’s warm hands made their way up her legs and hips before he slowly began to unfasten each button, had her nipples aching to be touched. When he finally made it to the top of her shirt and gently pushed the material off her shoulders, he lingered, placing kisses all along her collarbone and neck. Finally he took her mouth in a devastating kiss before pulling back to reveal her to the other men. Her pussy was slick and ready for them, but from the look on Conn’s face, Ali had a feeling this wasn’t going to be a quick tumble to satisfaction. Even the knowledge that she would only find release when Conn decided she would, made her tremble inside.

“Tannen, get rid of Alison’s shirt and lean back against the headboard. Position Ali so that she is straddling your stomach, her back to your chest, and I want both of you to spread your thighs wide for us,” Conn ordered, while he removed the rest of his clothes, and by the look of his cock, the swollen tip already producing a drop of pre-cum, the plan he had in mind for them all wouldn’t disappoint. “Kal has shown so much patience and control these last few days. He didn’t attack Commander Vaughn, or hurt the guards too badly at the medical center. I think he deserves a reward. Don’t you, Alison?”

The gentle doctor easily lifted her up and settled her against his chest, his hard cock coming up right between her legs to brush against her wet folds. Ali loved the feel of his warm skin wrapping around her, and his soft lips as they caressed and kissed her neck.

“Kal, your reward is that you get to enjoy the taste of them both until I decide to take your ass,” Conn said, as he crawled into the bed as well with a container in his hand and sat back to enjoy the show.

“Mmmm … my favorite,” Kal said as he lowered to his stomach between their splayed thighs. “Better hold on tight, Tannen.”