Chapter 11

THE LIGHT-PURPLE SHIRT Amy wore with a striking gold crown across the chest, Insomnia Princess surrounding it in glittery pink, was an incorrect representation of who she was. In reality, she was the queen. Case in point, the sleepless night before when she'd never once closed her eyes.

Nightmares hadn't kept her awake this time. Worrying about how to handle the twins had, leaving her feeling utterly exhausted as she went about her duties. She seemed stuck in low gear and desperately needed a boost to get unstuck, but there wasn't enough coffee in the world, not even for the queen.

By the time lunch rolled around, she had a splitting headache and zero interest in food. She needed a cool, dark corner to fend off the impending migraine. She didn't get them often, but when she did, boy-oh-boy were they doozies.

Amy had learned her lesson and didn't dare venture outside after the events of the previous day. Instead, she scoured the clinic in search of a tranquil nook, eventually stumbling upon a storage room in the back. Not with medical supplies. That room stayed so busy it should have a revolving door. No, she found a blessedly quiet spot amid the cleaning supplies, hand soap, brooms, and mops .

Tossing a spare cushion for one of the lobby chairs on the floor, she made herself comfortable, leaned her back against the wall. With her eyes closed, she could imagine herself on a sunny beach, a gentle breeze blowing in off the water, and the rhythmic, hypnotic sound of the waves rolling in and crashing against the shore.

A shadow passed over her, blocking out the sun. She squinted up at the silhouette of a tall man with incredibly broad shoulders.

"I thought I'd find you here," he said as, uninvited, he lowered himself onto the blanket beside her and stretched his long legs out in front of him.

"Feel free to join me," she stated, her tone laced with a sarcastic edge.

Tarus chuckled. "You know you want me to, koria dral ." His big hand cupped her chin and turned her face up to his. His lips met hers, soft and gentle, and a delightful tingle sparked between them. It turned heated quickly, until Remus' drawling, "You've got a lot of nerve kissing my mate , Brother," interrupted the rising passion of their intimate moment.

In a split second, Tarus sprang to his feet and confronted his twin chest to chest. "You're confused, little brother. Amy is mine."

"I'll fight you for her," he challenged.

"With pleasure. And may the best warrior win."

"No!" she pleaded, but they didn't listen.

The air sizzled with their furious energy, and their voices soon escalated into a deafening argument. Amy appealed to them, trying to defuse the situation, but their bodies collided with a jarring force, exchanging punches. The sickening thud of flesh meeting flesh made her stomach churn, each pain-inflicting blow causing her to flinch and serving as a harsh reminder it was all her fault.

"Don't do this!" she pleaded. "You are brothers. This must stop!"

The sound of her plaintive cries echoing through the storage room jolted her awake. It took a moment to realize the vivid images were only figments of her imagination, but the mops and brooms were all real.

Conflicting emotions surged within her. With her stomach tied in knots, she hugged herself tightly, her body trembling. Unlike with the entity, when she dreamed of the twins, she woke free from the usual haze of confusion, every detail etched clearly into her mind.

They were not only brothers but twins. They came into this universe together, near inseparable since the womb. By their own words, they were each half of a whole. Amy refused to come between them and knew what she had to do. She'd end any romantic entanglements with both of them and hope to salvage a friendship.

With trembling hands, she pulled out her communicator and sent a message to Tarus. She'd tell him the bad news first.

Amy: I must speak with you. Can you come by my apartment this evening if you have time?

Tarus: Is something wrong? I'll come immediately.

Amy: No! It's not life or death. Besides, I'm working today. There is something important I need to tell you, however.

Tarus: Should I pick you up after work?

Amy: No. Meet me at my place at 7 o'clock.

Tarus: I will be there at 6:59.

AMY RESTLESSLY PACED her living room, agonizing over what she would say, like she did all afternoon. She tested out various words and phrases then quickly discarded them. After what seemed like hours, a knock sounded at her door.

She took a deep breath before opening. Tarus stood before her, his commanding presence looming large, while Remus watched her intently from behind his shoulder. A sinking feeling washed over her, intensifying the uneasiness in her stomach.

"I had hoped to do this separately, and in private, but since you're both here..." She stepped back, opening the door wider and waved them in. "Please have a seat."

Remus sprawled his long body in one of her oversized armchairs, dwarfing it. Tarus declined and remained standing with his arms crossed over his chest.

"What's this about?" he asked without preliminaries.

"There's no easy way to say this," she whispered, her voice barely audible as she stared at her fidgety hands. "Both of you have shown interest in...more. But I can't decide, and I refuse to come between you." She went on with an aching heart. "I'm sorry. I hope you understand and that we can remain friends."

"We have a solution," Remus declared as he gracefully rose from his seat. Taking her hand in his, he led her to the couch.

"We?" she echoed. "You've discussed this? You both knew?"

"We did. You'll learn there are no secrets between Tarus and me. We share everything. "

Amy tensed. Did "share" mean what she thought it did? Holy cow. That would be a solution all right. One not unheard of, but one she'd never considered for herself.

The couch shifted as Tarus settled on her other side. As he clasped her other hand, his fingers intertwining with hers, like his brother's did, the warmth of their touch triggered a sense of comfort and rightness.

Leaning in until his lips were a hairsbreadth from hers, he murmured, "Kiss me."

His desire-laced command hung in the air, igniting an electric tension. As if compelled to, she moved the rest of the way, and, when their lips met, a spark of fire erupted between them. It was intense and overwhelming, as if their very souls were colliding.

When they broke for air, Remus wasted no time in asserting his claim. His hand, gentle yet firm, cupped her chin and turned her face to his. "Now, it's my turn," he whispered.

As his mouth met hers, he bypassed soft and gentle, diving right into intensity. His tongue slipped between her parted lips, stealing what little breath she had left. As this second warrior asserted his claim, she experienced the same fiery passion and deep connection.

Amy marveled over how such a thing was even possible, but his hands exploring her body served as a distraction. They caressed her breasts, hips, and thighs with a bold confidence that sent shivery spirals racing to all her needy places. When his thumbs circled her nipples through the material of her shirt, and his fingers sank into her hair as he deepened the kiss, she realized it wasn't two hands she felt, but four .

Confusion clouded her thoughts, mingling with the overwhelming pleasure that coursed through her veins. When warm lips glided along her jaw at the same time another pair slid down the side of her neck, she could breathe again, and realization dawned.

"You're suggesting it would be all of us together?" she uttered with a mix of disbelief and uncertainty.

"To clarify," Remus said, his words vibrating against her skin. "It will be Tarus with you, and me with you, but never me and Tarus together."

"It will always be us pleasuring and claiming you, pretty mate."

Tarus' words sprang to life in her head. Mates! The three of them. Could it be true?

"But I never matched with anyone."

"Neither did we," Remus reminded her. "Can you tell us this doesn't feel right, koria dral ?"

Since Adria had translated it for her, the words were seamless in her head. She was Amethyst Opal Stone, Remus and Tarus' precious gem. It seemed so right.

"This is all so confusing," she whispered between pants because their exploration of her body hadn't ceased.

"Then we shall make it clear for you," Tarus whispered in her ear as he rolled both nipples at once.

She turned to him, her arms surrounding his neck as he lifted her and carried her to the bedroom. Somehow, Remus arrived ahead of them, stripped off the covers, and shoved the pillows onto the floor. When Tarus set her down next to the bed, his hand sank into her hair, tipping her head back, and he covered her mouth with his. His kiss was ravenous, primal, and all-consuming so that she didn't notice her clothes had melted away until her bare skin grazed the braiding on his warrior's tunic.

When he lifted her this time, he set her on the bed beside an equally naked Remus. Needing a minute, she pushed herself to a seated position and stared into his pure lavender eyes.

"This is happening really fast."

"We'll go slow," he assured her. "We don't have to complete the breaching tonight. Scent marking is enough."

She had learned about Primarian mating in her EPIC classes before leaving Earth. Much of it had faded, especially after it seemed an impossibility for her. One intriguing detail she recalled was how the male's scent would imprint on the female's during intimate, skin-to-skin contact.

"I will smell like you after this?"

"You will carry our scent." Also naked, Tarus stretched out behind her, his busy hands resuming their exploration. "Others will recognize our scent on you and know you belong to us, that you are our mate."

"But whose scent will I carry, or will it be a mix of you both?"

"We're twins, identical in many ways, including that we scent the same," Remus explained, stroking her face. "I know this is a lot to take in. Let us show you."

"Slowly and gently," Tarus assured her, as his lips trailed over her shoulder to the middle of her back then dotted fervent kisses down her spine.

With busy hands that never stilled, Remus caressed her front, his lips, tongue, and even his teeth mapping out every square inch of her breasts .

She gasped, nipples hardening to the point of being painful, as liquid desire flooded her pussy.

"What if I don't want slow and gentle?"

"You're getting it anyway," Tarus insisted, his voice resonating with an unwavering determination that could not be ignored. "Breaching can be intense, as is the subsequent mate bonding. With two males, it will be doubly so. You will let your mates guide you in this."

She twisted her body enough to meet his gaze. "I will because I trust you. Also, because I'm a terrible student, the lessons didn't stick, and I only vaguely know what to expect." Nervously, she licked her lips before asking what she most urgently wanted to know. "Will the breaching hurt?"

Remus turned her face to his for another kiss. "The transformation may cause some burning and discomfort, which is normal," he explained. "But not to worry, koria dral . We will be with you to ease the way."

Tarus molded his long naked form against her bare back. She gasped at his hardness against her bottom, its proportions as large as the rest of him and far exceeding her expectations. She'd left her virginity behind long ago, but the restraint they proposed sounded like a good idea all of a sudden.

They engaged in some heavy petting with her the center of a warrior sandwich. Their hard bodies pressed against her soft curves, sharing kisses and touches. Then they flipped. With her back to Remus, he kissed her neck, nibbled on her ear, and caressed her from breasts to hips. Moving lower to her thighs, his hands curved around the soft inner flesh as he spread her wide to accommodate Tarus' broad shoulders as he took it further .

With his thumbs, he spread her open, his touch as gentle as promised, but there had been no mention of the hotness of his mouth and searing tongue. Now the promised slowness drove her wild as he kissed and lapped and teased everywhere, avoiding her clit. She bucked her hips, trying to make contact, but Remus held her still.

"Easy, koria ," he practically purred in her ear. "Pleasure awaits you if you are patient."

Tarus' indulgence of slow and gentle was thankfully at an end, however. With a hungry growl, his tongue glided hotly through her folds, delved into her center then circled and flicked the achy bud pulsing at the front of her sex. When she cried out as pleasure coursed through her, he sealed his mouth over her clit, sucking it greedily.

Remus curled his legs around hers, bracing her open, freeing up his hands to resume playing with her breasts. Throughout it all, he never stopped kissing her or whispering encouragement about her beauty, how responsive she was to her mates, and how happy they would be in their mate bond.

Everything at once had her spiraling out of control. Her body jerked and she cried out as the most powerful orgasm in her life swept through her.

While she came down from ecstasy's peak, the twins traded places. Tarus held her from behind, whispering praise. Remus' mouth was on her pussy, easing and soothing.

"Forget about a sandwich. I'm the gooey center of a glorious warrior cookie," she said when she could speak.

Remus' grinning face was in front of her, his mouth tasting of her when his lips brushed hers. "She's not making sense, Brother. Mission accomplished. "

Tarus buried his face in her neck and breathed deep. "And she scents more of us than of her. Well done."

"Please don't stop," she gasped.

"Slowly," Remus reminded her. "That's all for now. But you'll carry our scent as you go about your day."

"Wait. You're not leaving, are you?"

"Unfortunately, this spontaneous scent marking wasn't planned. We have to report for duty within the hour," he replied, looking as disappointed as she felt.

"Later tonight, then?" she asked hopefully.

"I am assigned the overnight watch tonight, and Tarus tomorrow, but the next night is ours for the breaching."

"Breaching," she repeated. It didn't sound hot or romantic.

Tarus translated into terms she better understood. "We'll fuck you, baby, and claim you as our own—forever."

Remus' head came up, eyes wide in surprise as he looked at his brother then at her. "I've never heard him say anything like that before. Finding our mate seems to have knocked something loose."

Amy blinked then giggled because until now, she always believed Tarus the more serious one.

"That will be enough out of the two of you," he ordered as he rolled to the side of the bed and got up. Amy watched him move to the bathroom, admiring the going-away view, which was quite yummy.

"He's kind of bossy," she whispered to Remus.

"That's because he's older and thinks he's in charge."

"Is he?"

The younger brother, he grunted, clearly not happy. "By Primarian law, yes. The oldest male is the head of the family. "

"And don't either of you forget it," Tarus called through the open door. When he came striding back a moment later, she rethought her opinion. The coming-toward-her view was worlds—no galaxies—beyond yummy.

He climbed back into bed and snuggled up against her. In a much-improved mood, Amy teased, "What happens if we forget, oh illustrious leader?"

"I beat him at sparring like I usually do. You get turned over my knee for a sound paddling."

Her breath caught in her throat as her brain created an image of her draped over Tarus' knee, his large hand caressing her bottom, long fingers dipping in between her thighs. That in exchange for a few swats didn't seem all bad.

Remus gave her a squeeze. "You should know, since I outrank you, you'll also receive discipline from me, should it be required."

Despite his often-playful nature, he'd already threatened to once, so she didn't doubt him. "The two-against-one part of this mating doesn't exactly seem fair."

Tarus' hand curled meaningfully over her backside. "Are you planning on being belligerent, disobedient, or outright naughty?"

"No," she answered, twisting to meet his blue-lavender gaze.

"Then you have nothing to worry about, mate."

"Nothing whatsoever," his twin echoed, hands moving and lips caressing once again. "Mine would only be love taps to get your attention."

He had it. Glancing at Tarus, she raised a brow, silently asking if he could say the same .

His fingers flexed on her vulnerable behind as he aligned his mouth with hers, close without touching. "I believe in the punishment fitting the crime. If you're a well-behaved mate, you have no reason to be concerned. Now, kiss me before we have to go," he ordered. "I can't get enough of your honey-sweet mouth."

With the force of two warriors' attention focused solely on her, she couldn't concentrate on anything except their lips, which tasted of her, and their fingers, exploring all of her intimate places. They brought her quickly to orgasm again with their dual, sensual assault.

Once they left her naked in her bed, and missing them already, she smiled a drowsy smile at the ceiling. If sex got better with the breaching and transformation, only one thing was certain—she'd overdose on pleasure.