Unexpected (13 page)

He
watched Alisa’s throat work as she finally released his bondmate’s staff. She
turned to face Felix, her eyes drowsy and her features relaxed. With a little
sigh she collapsed on his chest, her soft curves a welcome sensation as he
wrapped his arms around her. Mikel fell to the side with a happy groan.

“Will
it always be like this?” she whispered.

He
kissed the top of her head, the assurance easy to make despite their
commander’s lack of support, that they hadn’t gotten approval to move her to
their quarters or bring her to Alpha, or the fact that they hadn’t even shared
a meal yet. “Yes, it will always be like this.”

****

“We’ll
be back tomorrow. Our apartment is yours.” Mikel kissed Alisa’s soft cheek,
reconsidered, and kissed her firmly on the mouth. She considered him with a
slight frown. They were standing in the kitchen as he ran through all the
functions of the appliances and environmental controls before he and his
bondmate left on a hastily arranged escort assignment.

“But
I’m not supposed to stay here. Felix said I needed permission from your
commander and approval from the residence manager before I can.”

Mikel
didn’t really care about such formalities. It was the height of ridiculousness
for anyone to expect bondmates to live apart. He shook his head and returned to
inspecting their food stores. Their chiller held imported Alphan specialties in
large quantities, and Felix had stocked an entire shelf with Earth foods such
as swine ham, chicken eggs, bovine butter, and various vegetables and fruits.
She should find something to suit her while they were gone.

“It
might be easier if I just returned to my room. Maybe by the time you get back
everything will be arranged.”

“No.
Is this enough to tide you over, or should we arrange another delivery with
contents more to your liking?”

Alisa
sighed and shook her head. “That’s more food than I could eat in a month.”

“Done.
Now come with
me to the bathroom so I can review the shower and bath amenities.”

“Mikel,
wait.” Alisa placed her hand on his arm to halt him in his march out of the
kitchen. Felix had tasked him to fully brief her before he returned from
arranging transportation for Prince
Edem
on his
sudden tour of the frozen apex of this planet. Why the coddled Alphan royal
wanted to see such a desolate site and freeze his culls off was beyond him, but
duty called and Mikel was determined to do nothing to call his devotion into
question.

She
looked so beautiful standing there with a puzzled expression, and knowing he
would be separated from her for over thirty hours made his heart ache. Unable
to resist, he pulled her into his arms and gave her a deep kiss, his hand
straying to her throat where he rested his fingertips on the mark of his
claiming. Her pulse flickered in time with his racing heartbeat, and he was
struck again by the power of their bond. She pulled her mouth from his, and he
merely adjusted his target to that little soft spot below her ear. She shivered
as he kissed her there.

“Is
it safe where you are going? Will you be in danger? Who will help you if
something goes wrong? What if there’s some sort of confrontation like there was
at the park?” Her breathy little questions thrilled him.

“Do
not fret about our security, sweet Alisa. We are fully capable of overcoming
any sort of adversity your planet or people might hurl at us.”

“Anything
could go wrong up there, and if I think of you or Felix wounded, lying on the
ice in pain with no one coming to help, I just—” Her voice choked off, and he
was struck by her distress. He and Felix had been assured the physical bond was
sound between them, but to know she was so clearly emotionally connected to
them delighted him. He pulled her tight, hoping to reassure and show her his
strength.

“Felix
and I will be vigilant as we always are. After all, we have you to return home
to. I want to spend all my tomorrows with you both, so why would I take any
chances? I won’t throw as much as a snowball.”

“So
you’ll watch out for polar bears and avalanches?”

“Of course.
Although I
understand polar bears are quite rare these days.”

She
harrumphed and pushed at his shoulders until he eased back and she could see
his face. Tears glittered in her eyes, but her mouth was set in an exasperated
curl. “You can’t come back with frostbitten toes. I don’t know what I’d do if—”

“No
frostbite. No accidents. Not angry mobs trying to shoot down our craft. This is
a pleasure cruise, and nothing will go wrong.” He had no right to make such a
promise, but what were the chances, after all? It wasn’t as if Earth was a
particularly dangerous planet. No acid rivers or caustic atmospheres. “So now I
must demonstrate all the functions of the bathroom or else Felix will be cross
with me.”

“We
don’t want that,” Alisa shot back with a provocative tone. Since her worry
seemed to have dissipated with the thought of his bondmate asserting his
dominance, Mikel decided to play along and see how far he could get.

“I
don’t know. What if I did something to merit chastisement?” He shifted his grip
on her curvy body and drew her hips to his, wanting her to feel how erect he’d
become at the thought. “I’m no stranger to errors.”

She
chuckled as he’d been aiming for and stroked her hands along his shoulders.
That was a pleasant sensation. “What would Felix do to you?”

“Depends on my mistake.
He might make
me clean the bathroom with a small brush, or run laps around the building.”

“Would
he ever use physical punishment?” A worried little frown crossed her features,
and Mikel thought sympathetic inclinations would not go amiss. They’d
established their bond with her, which meant they were free to engage in sexual
relations without Felix present. He would appreciate a quick coupling before he
had to leave her.

“Probably not, although I was often
clouted and lashed while I was in training.
I had a short
attention span and often caused my cohort to miss performance benchmarks.”

Alisa
let out a soft, sorrowful sound and stroked her hand along his cheeks and into
his hair.
Lovely
.
She reached for his forearm and guided his hand to cup her breast.
Even better.

“Would
he discipline me if I displeased him? Would you?” Her eyelids fluttered as he
found her hard
dinap
with his thumb.

“How
would that even be possible?” Mikel nuzzled at her neck again, and she shivered
in his arms. That was as good a sign as any that she was receptive, so he began
to draw up the heavy folds of her skirt. With a little sigh, she helped him,
gathering the hem above her waist to reveal she was wearing the black underwear
Felix had selected the day before. They were cunningly designed to allow access
to her
quonum
even as she wore them. He slid his
fingertips between the overlapping edges of the smooth material to find she was
already very wet and hot.

“I
make errors, too,” she huffed out as he stroked her, paying special attention
to the firm little nub at the top of her cleft. She rocked her hips in
counterpoint and leaned against him. Mikel wished they were not in the kitchen
but rather a room with softer surfaces.

“We
would never punish you.”

“Of course not.
What fables has
Mikel been spreading?” Felix’s voice cut
in,
and Mikel
looked away from Alisa’s flushed face to see his bondmate leaning on the
kitchen doorframe, taking in the sight of her pleasure with a satisfied smile.
She turned in his arms and gave him an unfocused look. “I don’t begrudge you a
moment of happiness, but I do need to be assured that you have been instructed
on how to use all the amenities.”

Mikel
wanted to wince at the reminder, but instead he shook his head and set Alisa to
his side before pulling her skirt down and regretfully stopping his attentions
to her.

“I
take that as a no. Come along then. We will review the faucets and drains.”

Mikel
gathered up Alisa’s hand, ready to follow his bondmate into the other room, but
she balked and stood immobile. He asked what ailed her, and she stared at Felix,
who had paused as well.

“Aren’t
you going to kiss me?”

Felix’s
eyebrow curved up. “Do you wish more sexual stimulation?”

Alisa
shook her head. “No, I want a greeting. Humans kiss each other when they see
each other after they’ve been parted.”

Felix
accepted this with a shrug and moved to comply. Alisa wrapped her arms around
him. “I’m worried that you’re going to such a terrible place.”

“She
is worried,” Mikel confirmed when Felix glanced his way. “I tried to reassure
her that all will be well.”

“But
there are dangers. Storms, your craft might have a mechanical failure and you’d
crash on some ice floe…” Alisa’s glanced between them as she tucked one hand to
Mikel’s elbow, drawing him closer. Felix stroked her back.

“I
just completed a full inspection of our vehicle. All its components are in
perfect working order. There are redundancies built into every vital system,
and I double checked all the emergency supplies. We are transporting one of the
royal
line
, and nothing will be left to chance.”

“I
don’t care about your prince. I care about—” Alisa stopped like something had
caught in her throat. She sucked in a quick breath. “I care about you. I … love
you.”

Tears
pooled in her eyes, and Mikel was confused as to why this fact made her sad.

“Of
course you love us. We love you, too.” Felix’s blithe assurance seemed to
rattle her, and she sniffed and blinked.

“Just like that?
We barely know
each other. We’re different species. I don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

“We
are
bonded
, Alisa, a tie as strong as
the life that fills us. It’s nothing to question or fight against. Mikel and I
will return from this little jaunt, begin to build our family here with you,
and as soon as our rotation is over, we will return to Alpha and settle into an
estate. There’s one adjacent to Mikel’s family land we’ve been considering, and
knowing we have you inclines me to make an offer on it today. We will continue
to serve our ruler, you will be free to do whatever you like, and hopefully we
will be blessed by the arrival of children. None of that should make you cry.”

“It
doesn’t. I don’t know why I’m crying.” Alisa sniffed and shook her head. “This
is just so unexpected.”

“For
us as well, but I have no doubts,” Mikel added.

“None whatsoever.”
Felix used his
thumb to brush away a few stray tears from her cheek. “Now, humor me by
listening to me discuss the bathroom appliances, and then allow Mikel and me to
reassure you as to our devotion and strength. I know I want to part from you
with the fresh memory of your lovely body in my mind and the scent of you on my
skin.”

Chapter Six

Putting
some extra effort into her stride, Alisa told herself there was nothing to
worry about. She was simply walking back to the women’s compound to collect a
few of her things and then she’d return to the men’s apartment. This looming
sense of danger was simply a by-product of her missing them already, even
though they’d only been gone a few hours and she really shouldn’t be so
attached to them so soon. A flush of embarrassment heated her cheeks when she
reminded herself she’d already told them she loved them and they had accepted
it with all the surprise of discovering they’d run out of milk. If she were a
more sensitive person, she’d be hurt that they hadn’t collapsed with joy at her
admission, but the way they’d said it so easily in return, and the orgasms
they’d given her afterwards, had improved her mood.

She
didn’t really need the towels and extra socks she’d decided she should retrieve
from her room, but the urge to get outside and move around was too strong to
ignore. It was merely an opportunity to use up some time while she waited for
their return.

A
dark, low-slung car pulled alongside her, and she stopped reflexively. The door
swung open, and an older Alphan leaned out. It was Felix and Mikel’s commanding
officer. She remembered him from the vandalism incident at the forest. “You are
Alisa Sorrel, correct?”

“Yes.”
Why would he be here, and why would he have stopped to talk with her?

“I
request that you enter the vehicle.” The words sounded awkward, and she
realized he probably issued more orders than polite invitations.

“Why?”
A spark of foreboding filled her, and she pressed her hand to her stomach.

“There’s
been an incident with Felix and Mikel. They are asking for you.”

Fear
iced her with cold dread. “What’s happened? Are they hurt?”

Before
she knew it, she was inside the car, the door was closed with a heavy thud, and
the vehicle was moving. Ivar pushed himself back into his seat and gave her a
glance before staring out the window at the buildings passing by.