Page 13 of Her Alien Mercenaries
Unless, of course, the males she was now mated to were part of the plot. Then they’d know right away that she wasn’t giving them anything useful because they’d already have far better information.Fraxx.
She was so not cut out for this spying thing.
Saral’s prediction that they wouldn’t stay too long proved accurate. Jenna didn’t know how the two males were doing, but she was under constant bombardment by lurid thoughts and a near constant need for hermahoyen. It was distracting, and the gradual loss of control was alarming. She wasn’t entirely in charge of her body or her mind at the moment, and from all reports, this was only the beginning. Thesharhalwould intensify over the next day or so, and there’d be no relief until they were fully bonded. Which meant sometime soon they’d move from talking to nakedness, sex, and biting.
The thought made her toes curl in anticipation. If sex with them was anything like the kisses they’d shared, she’d deal with the strangeness of going to bed with two males she barely knew.
Unsure what would happen next, she let them guide her out of the tavern and into the glorious sunshine. It was early autumn in the colony, with cooler nights and shorter days marking the end of her first summer.
Autumn, spring, summer, and winter were only words to her before coming to the colony. Nothing much grew outside the energy shields that protected her former home. Every season looked the same as any other from the inside. Though her employers lived on the upper levels, most of the hive’s citizens lived in the cramped lower areas, far from the surface of their ruined planet.
One of the few perks of her profession was that she lived with or near the families employing her so she could be on hand to care for the children. That meant access to better food, clean water, and a chance to glimpse the sun from time to time. As weak and filtered as it was by pollution and the energy shield, it was still more than she’d have if she’d lived below ground.
It came as a surprise when Torren stopped and turned to look at her. “What would you like to do?”
“Me?” This might be the first time in her life someone had asked her that question. She’d assumed the meet-and-greet stage had ended and they’d be moving on to… whatever came next.
“Uh. Shouldn’t we be, you know, getting on with things?” The moment the words were out of her mouth, she wished to all the stars she could take them back.
Torren grinned wickedly. “That’s certainly one option. But if you aren’t ready for that, we could do something else. You flew with me already. Would you like to fly with Zanyr? Maybe go see the ocean?”
She managed to stop herself from squealing with delight, but it was a near thing. “Could we?”
Zanyr looked at Torren, and the two exchanged a look she couldn’t interpret.
“Ah,” he said several seconds later. “Torren said you stared at the ocean on your way here. Have you never seen it before?”
“You noticed that?” She felt like all she was doing was asking obvious questions, but her brain was not functioning well, and she hoped the males were distracted enough not to notice.
“I did. It reminded me I haven’t flown to see it in ages. When we first came here, I flew to the shore every few days,” Torren said. “Neither of us spent much time on planets in the last few years. Our miss—our work didn’t allow for much down time.”
“I know that feeling.” Jenna caught the sudden change in wording but didn’t comment, though she was curious about what he’d almost said instead. Something about their past? The work they did? They’d told her they worked security for freighting companies, guarding ships and their cargos from raiders and other dangers.
She realized that both of them were waiting for her to answer Zanyr’s question and hurriedly framed a reply. “The closest I’ve come to an ocean was a sim-pod program I found on the journey out here. The day we landed, it rained so hard we didn’t see much after entering the atmosphere. I did see it from orbit, though.” She smiled at the memory. “We were all so excited. None of us had ever seen so much water.”
“No one took you to see it since you arrived? I’d have thought the organizers would give you a chance to explore your new home a little.” Zanyr frowned. “What were you doing all the time you were sequestered from the rest of the colony?”
“Learning how to live here,” she said. “Remember that we had no experience with things you take for granted. I and the others lived our entire lives indoors. No weather, no wild flora, and no fauna to worry about.Veth, it took time just to look up at the open sky without panicking. All this space.” She let go of their hands, spread her arms, and raised them toward the blue sky. “It takes some getting used to. So did the higher gravity. The shots and conditioning on the ship here helped, but it was still tiring.”
Torren winced. “Apologies, blossom. I didn’t consider your situation before flying off with you. I hope you weren’t distressed.”
“I wasn’t. If I’d had concerns, I would have said something. I’m shy. I know that. But I can speak up if I need to.”
Zanyr smiled and reached for her. “That’s good. We have a lot to learn about each other, and we’re bound to make mistakes. Well, I am.” He jerked his head toward Torren. “That one keeps telling me he’s never wrong.”
Torren drew himself to his full height, his mannerisms changing to that of an aloof aristocrat or a high-level corporate executive.
Looking down his nose at Zanyr, he drolled, “Your pitiful attempts to make me look bad in front of ourmahayaare doomed to fail. She is our mate, and she will come to care for us both… which, in your case, is a testament to the power of the bond we share.”
“Don’t pull that courtly manner crap with me, you overbredbakaffa.” Zanyr flicked a rude gesture in Torren’s direction and then held the same hand out to her. “Come with me,ana-thi.We have an ocean to see.”
“Why do you call me that? It means fair wind. Right?” She let him draw her in close before asking.
“That’s what you are. A gift carried to us by the fairest of winds.”
She considered that and then beamed. “I like it.”
“See? She likes my name for her better than yours. Blossom is boring. You’ll have to do better.” Zanyr swept her into his arms and took off before Torren could answer, but she heard his laughter as they rose into the wide blue sky.
