Chapter 13

AMY'S PREOCCUPATION was off the charts the next day. How was she supposed to function knowing what awaited her after work? She'd had sex before, in relationships easily counted on one hand, and limited to one man at a time.

The idea of engaging in a ménage with alien males of colossal proportions was beyond her imagination. The intricate positions and maneuvers she had read about in spicy books seemed implausible. What worried her even more was the enigmatic transformation. She'd been told in her EPIC classes to expect burning, and not the passionate kind. Then there were the permanent physical changes.

During her time on Primaria, she had seen the changes in newly mated females. One of her EPIC classmates had undergone a drastic overnight shift from silvery blonde to a head full of jet-black hair. Another unfortunate soul had endured weeks of zebra-like stripes before her hair turned entirely black. Changes in eye color and skin tone were usually more subtle. Although she was surrounded by this phenomenon for three months, nobody openly discussed the journey from point A to point B.

At lunch, she pulled Adria off to the side and asked for the details .

"I need to know about the mating fire and the transformation."

"What do you want to know? It's a two-part experience."

"Everything."

"As the name suggests, mates have an insatiable craving for each other. It can be quite overwhelming at first, so don't expect to get much done outside of the bedroom, or wherever you are when passion overtakes you. It subsides to a manageable level after the first few weeks but never goes away, which is good because, as I'm sure you know, Primarians mate for life."

"I've heard that, and I find it romantic, but my interest is in a different kind of fire. A burning, from what I'm told."

"Ah, yes. That fire. After breaching occurs, the physiological effects of the transformation in the female, which is best compared to a chemical reaction, results in an elevated body temperature and a burning sensation on the skin."

"Burning where, exactly?"

There was sympathy in her eyes when she replied, "Sometimes it's localized, other times it's...everywhere. I'm afraid I can't be more specific. Each female reacts differently, so it's impossible to predict."

"Everywhere, like inside and out."

"Unfortunately, and sometimes it can go on for several days after."

"Great. Does the male have to suffer through this fire, too?"

"No, since they don't transform, except in rare instances."

"Why is it that females everywhere get the short end of the stick? It's hardly fair."

"Males aren't left out of it completely. Some burn, although if it happens, it typically occurs much later, and they deserve every excruciating moment." When Amy stared at her blankly, Adria gave her a meaningful look before explaining, "The equivalent of having their male parts scalded by hot water is usually a powerful enough deterrent for them to stay faithful."

"Yes, I remember talk of that now. How do you know it really happens if it's such a deterrent?"

"Primarian males have passed the warning down through countless generations, ensuring its preservation. We still get a few scoundrels who try to prove the stories wrong. But as they say in your world, the piper must be compensated if you play."

It took a moment for Amy to figure out her twisted idiom. "You mean when you play, you gotta pay , don't you?"

Adria frowned. "I distinctly remember a piper being involved."

Back to the matter at hand, Amy asked, "Beck is human. Did he experience it too?"

"Yes, which is strange. As am I, a female, bearing a marking. It has only ever been in the males of the family line. Yet, when I transformed, I got the familial marking, and so did Beck. We are anything but a typical example; in fact, quite the opposite."

"Didn't the master warrior take on Eryn's red hair?"

"Yes, but he's the only one of our males to date that it has happened to."

"How odd. I bet it's driving Ellar crazy trying to figure it all out."

"It's the same for Jarlan, the chief physic. With Primarian-human pairings, there's a saying we often use—expect the unexpected. Speaking of Ellar, it's time for our weekly grand rounds, a time for us to delve into and analyze all the cases we've encountered over the week, especially mine, as new physic. "

"Thanks for answering my questions. I know you're busy."

"I always have time for an inquisitive friend," she said with a smile. "Did I satisfy your curiosity?"

"For now. Tomorrow, I may have more questions."

Adria pursed her lips, her brows knitting together in suspicion.

"Once I've processed what you told me," Amy rushed to explain.

Over the intercom, Ellar announced, "Physic Adria, we're beginning grand rounds in the conference room. Our chief physic, Jarlan, is sitting in."

"Good grief. Of all times to be late," she muttered as she flew out the door and down the hall.

With no appointments scheduled during rounds, Amy had little to do except consider all Adria had said. How would the mating fire impact her with two mates—both the unquenchable desire and the chemical reaction? Would she be able to walk or spontaneously combust? Or perhaps she'd feel nothing.

If she wasn't compatible with her warriors, like with all of her previous testing, and they weren't fated mates—the second out of the question without the first per her understanding—would she transform at all? She couldn't help wondering what form it would take with her if she did. Would lavender eyes go well with her red hair and fair complexion, or would those change as well? The intricate markings on Tarus' and Remus' lower back were quite beautiful, in purples and gold and black. Would she bear one of those too—or remain the same?

They'd scent marked her. She could smell both Tarus and Remus on her skin. It was subtle. Maybe that was it for them. They said it happened with all mates, and she recalled it wasn't permanent. If the mates were apart, without frequent, necessary skin-to-skin contact, the scent would fade. Of course, with fated mates, they couldn't be away from each other for long without risking separation sickness and ultimately, death.

That was rare, and only with near-perfect compatibility. Maybe the three of them who never matched with anyone, wouldn't experience anything, including the mating fire. If not, wouldn't that mean Tarus and Remus' desire for her could wane? If so, they might tire of her? What if they found a match later? Worse, if they found their fated mate.

With a weak bond, or none at all, if they didn't feel the mating fire for her that kept the mates together, couldn't they easily cast her aside?

As the afternoon wore on and the clock ticked closer to quitting time, a whirlwind of anxiety engulfed her. She paced back and forth in her cramped office, the sound of her footsteps echoing in the stillness.

Just then, Remus entered the lobby, bringing with him a blast of hot air. His smile of greeting faded as soon as he saw her.

" Faex! I knew things were going along too smoothly," he muttered under his breath. More loudly, he asked, "What's happened now?"

Tears flooded her eyes. "Nothing. Everything!"

In a flash, he stood in front of her, pulling her into his arms, offering solace and security with his strength. "You've allowed your worries about tonight to balloon out of proportion. Am I right?"

She nodded, sniffling .

"Are you ready to go?"

"I finished an hour ago and have spent every minute since pacing."

He released her, but only to take her hand in his and lead her to the door. "I'm guessing it will take both me and Tarus to untangle the web of questions swirling in your head."

"I sure hope one of you owns a compass and a map because it's a quagmire in there."

Chuckling, he draped an arm around her shoulders and steered her down the street toward the end of town and her apartment, where her other warrior was meant to meet them.

TARUS LEANED AGAINST the wall in the hall, waiting for them.

"A neighbor let me in the building," he explained, "but I couldn't get farther than this. That is an oversight we need to fix right away."

Getting a closer look at her face, he frowned. Self-consciously, she licked her dry lips and rubbed beneath her eyes, which were probably red from crying, Worse, she could have racoon eyes from smudged mascara. She should have checked her makeup before leaving work.

"What's wrong?" he asked, a question he likely hadn't asked nearly so much before meeting her.

Remus shook his head, a faint frown creasing his forehead. "Let's talk inside," he suggested.

The two of them took up most of her small living room, but Remus led her straight to the bedroom, Tarus on their heels, where their tall frames and broad shoulders dwarfed the size of the cramped space.

"Would someone like to tell me what's going on?" Although posed as a question, his patience had run out and it wasn't a request.

"A case of breaching-night jitters," Remus explained.

Tarus pulled her into his arms and rocked her gently. "I thought these past three days, with one of us with you every second outside of sleep and work, we would have put your fears to rest."

"It's a lot to take in," she admitted, leaning into his embrace, unable to miss the hard length of him against her belly.

"We can be patient as we've shown you," Remus murmured as his arms slid around her from behind, and he molded his body to hers. "There's no need to rush," he assured her, although his rampant erection hard against her bottom cheeks said otherwise.

With whispered words and gentle caresses, they tried to put her at ease. Their dual approach worked, stirring her desire and building the heat between them, a primal energy that seemed to ignite every nerve in her body.

As they undressed her, trailing kisses over each exposed inch of skin, nervous excitement surged inside her. She had never been with two males before, let alone alien warriors with such an intense physical and emotional connection. But wanting them had never been in question.

Remus laid her in bed where Tarus waited with open arms. They worshiped her body with their touch until Amy moaned softly. Remus claimed her lips with a fiery kiss.

"Feel how much we want you," he breathed into her mouth .

Insisting on equal time, Tarus turned her face to his and laid claim to a kiss of his own. "This initial breaching will allay your fears," he whispered, his voice carrying as much anticipation as his body. "When we join with you, everything else will fade away as you become ours forever."

"Do you swear?" she asked, her fingers digging into his shoulders. The panic and fear she'd tried to suppress came spilling out along with all her questions. "What if we aren't compatible and don't bond? What if I can't transform? And have you considered what happens if the princep and elders refuse to accept a first-ever triad? I'll be back to square one. No," she said, wiping at the tears dripping off her chin. "It will be worse. I'll be a reject on three planets."

"Primarians, especially warriors, are honorable men, koria dral . We would never take you as a mate and leave you," Tarus insisted. His eyes shot to his brother. "What happened to her today?"

"Too much downtime to think and worry," Remus replied, as he rolled to his side, taking her with him. With her head in the crook of his arm, and him propped above, he cradled her face in his hand. "Amy, where is this fear that we will abandon you coming from? That does not happen in our world."

"It does in mine," she exclaimed with an unladylike sniff. "Everyone I've ever been close to has left me. My father, a man I didn't know, never wanted me. Then my gran, who was closer to me than my mother, got sick and died. A few years later, so did my mom. And I won't get into the rejections by the men I dated."

In a deep, rumbling voice, Tarus replied, "I'd rather you didn't. We aren't those men, and while we can't promise how long our lives will be, every day with you as our mate will be blessed."

"I couldn't have put it better myself," Remus murmured while using his thumbs to wipe the tears from her wet cheeks.

"But what if your true mate, or mates, is out there somewhere? If we're not compatible and you meet her, what happens to me?"

"That will not happen," Remus assured her, pulling her tight against him from chest to knee and rolling so that her body draped across his. "If the impossible occurred, it wouldn't matter because we would already be mated to you."

"Stuck with me, you mean."

Two sharp cracks sounded in the room as heat bloomed across her bottom cheeks. Both she and Remus looked at Tarus in surprise.

"We cannot make our intentions clearer. Yet you doubt our earnest commitment to you. Warriors do not lie. They do not leave. They do not abandon the female they have sworn to cherish and protect. Warriors mate for life and you, Amethyst Stone, are our mate. Is that understood, or do I need to spank more understanding into you?"

She swallowed hard then whispered, "I've got it now."

He arched a brow in challenge."What was that?"

"I've got it now, sir?"

"Try mate," Remus suggested, whispering in her ear.

"Your meaning couldn't have been clearer, mate," she breathed to which he nodded, finally satisfied.

He stretched out beside Remus and reached for her. Once he had her draped atop him, he sank his fingers into her hair and angled her face to his. "There will be no more talk about leaving. It's the three of us forever, mate. Voraes eternium ."

"Ours forever," Remus echoed, translating the words, but she knew instinctively what it meant without him doing so.

"Yes," she gasped, her voice filled with raw emotion. "My forever mates."

Tarus claimed her mouth as Remus' lips trailed down her back. Passion built as their hands roamed her body with a reverence that brought more tears to her eyes. Each touch sent shivers of pleasure racing through her, igniting a fire within that threatened to consume her.

She lost Remus' heat, but he didn't go far. Rising behind her, he shifted her onto her knees, and his fingers sought the wet haven between her thighs. Tarus' kisses didn't cease, nor did the stroking of his hands, soothing and exciting her as she was penetrated slowly from behind. She broke their kiss, gasping as Remus stretched her with his immense proportions.

"Breathe deep," Tarus urged. "You can take him. Eventually, you'll take both of us in every way that is possible."

The thought of that was alarming, since they were both huge, until fingers found her clit. She wasn't sure who they belonged to, but after a few minutes of arousing stimulation, Remus slipped into her completely.

Amy felt a surge of heat wash over her, and a wave ofdesire so strong she was left breathless. The room seemed to pulse with the intensity of their passion, the air thick with the heady scent of their combined arousal.

Remus moved smoothly inside her, with patience and incredible reserve that proved his physical and emotional strength. As he breached her over and over, she and Tarus shared fevered kisses, their tongues tangling as they explored each other with a hunger that bordered on desperation. Amy moaned softly, one hand clutching his shoulder while the other reached behind and found Remus' wrist, encircling it as best she could because, like the hard length filling her, it was proportionate to his seven-foot frame as well.

Amy hung on to them both as her passion soared beyond the point of no return. She cried out, the sound captured by the mouth of Tarus, who held her as the tremors swept through her. Remus' wasn't far behind. Her inner muscles gripping his driving shaft pulled him over the brink with her.

He roared his satisfaction while she collapsed on Tarus' chest, weak and trembling.

After catching her breath, she whispered in a voice filled with awe, "Wow. That was incredible."

"And you only know the half of it," Remus replied, planting a kiss on the small of her back.

"Hmm?" she asked, not processing yet.

Her warriors exchanged a grin.

"You belong to us, mate," Tarus said, his voice rough with desire because he hadn't come yet. "We will show you pleasure beyond your wildest dreams."

"And we'll do so in a moment. Be right back," Remus murmured before withdrawing and leaving the bed.

"Where is he going?"

"To get something to clean you up for round two."

She only thought she was too spent to move. Pushing up from his chest, she looked down at him, his gorgeous eyes darker than usual and burning with a fierce intensity.

"I'm guessing it's your turn. "

"Remus went first last time. Fair is fair."

When he returned, he took care of the cleanup personally. The intimacy, even after what they had just done, sent a blush rushing to her cheeks.

Once finished, he tossed the cloth in the general vicinity of the hamper. "Spread your thighs," he ordered, as he lifted her and set her astride Tarus.

There was some residual tenderness, but she glided easily down his shaft, his length as impressive as his brother's, until she sat impaled upon him.

Not content to be a passive observer for the second act, Remus brushed her hair to one side, and while he spread open-mouthed kisses over the side of her neck and along her shoulder, he played with her breasts.

Although she would have said it was impossible, each touch, each kiss, each caress, and each deep upward thrust from Tarus' cock pushed Amy closer and closer to the edge of another release. When his movements grew faster and more urgent, Remus rose, standing on the bed.

Erect again, with cock in hand, he brushed the head over her lips, and directed in a deep, desire-infused voice close to a growl, "Open. Bring pleasure to both your mates, koria dral ."

This was more unfamiliar territory. She'd never found a blow job particularly arousing, but this was unbelievably hot. Having the power to make these two powerful men mindless with pleasure gave her a newfound confidence. She sucked and licked and gasped for breath while Tarus thrust into her again and again. When his fingers curled around her hips, and Remus tensed beneath her hands, she knew they were close. Their pleasure incited her own, and she came yet again, moaning out her passion.

Tarus pumped hard and planted deep. His neck arched, and he groaned his release. Remus quickly followed, his breathing growing ragged as he let out a deep growl. The instant before he exploded with pleasure, he withdrew from her mouth and released his satisfaction in a hot splash across her breasts.

When he could speak, Tarus said with a chuckle, "Anointed inside and out. That's bound to trigger a transformation."

Having come twice, Remus flopped onto the bed, clearly spent. His broad shoulders beside his brother's made for a tight squeeze. They nestled her between them, a situation she found most enjoyable, but worry nagged at her, and she couldn't settle.

"When do you think that will happen?" Amy asked, her anxiety to be theirs irrevocably driving the question even though Adria had answered it.

"There is no usual," Remus stated. "It has happened overnight or taken months."

"And years with Lana and the general," Tarus reminded him.

"This is true. It was nearly as long with the Master Warrior and Eryn."

"I've heard about that," Amy stated, hoping she wouldn't have to wait and wonder that long. "Lana and Eryn hadn't fully accepted them as mates. It took until that happened for the changes to occur."

Tenderly, Tarus brushed a strand of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. "I've accepted you into my heart, mate. "

"As have I," Remus echoed.

"And I have accepted my warrior twins into mine," she professed.

He smiled as he bent his head to hers, pillowed on his shoulder, and kissed her forehead. "Then we should know something soon," he whispered, his voice a deep husky croon of pure contentment.

"Agreed," Remus said, as exited the bed. He held out a hand for Amy.

Without a second thought, she laid hers in his and let him pull her up with him. "Are we going somewhere?"

"You need a shower. Since I caused your mess, I should be the one to clean it up."

"Be careful in that tin can they call a shower," Tarus advised. "We need to find a place that can accommodate three." He shifted onto his side. "With a bigger bed. Whoever rides the edge sleeping in this will wind up bruised and on the floor."

"Not Amy."

"As if I'd allow such a thing. It's you or me, Brother." He rolled and looked over the side. "Maybe a cushion until we find something. That tile floor is cold and hard and will leave a mark."

"Do they have showers and beds for three on Terra Nova?" Amy asked, skeptical anyone had considered such a thing so early in the colonization.

"I'll talk to Beck," Tarus advised, scooping up one of the pillows Remus had strewn about in his eagerness. He tucked it behind his head, flopped onto his back, and closed his eyes.

"No, you won't!" Amy exclaimed. "I'd be mortified. "

He cracked an eyelid. "We can't move in the shadows forever, mate. Besides, once a Primarian smells your new scent, they'll know."

"Adria didn't."

Remus cradled her cheek. "That was before one of us spent on you and both of us spent inside you." He leaned close and whispered, "You reek of us now."

She sniffed, smelling the pungent scent of sex, which would wash off. "You mentioned a shower. That should take care of it."

"He doesn't mean from our breaching you, dral ," Tarus explained around a yawn. "This isn't something you can hide with scented soap and perfume."

"Thank the Maker for that," Remus said as he tugged on her hand and pulled her naked toward the shower.

He had a newfound motivation to find them a new home.

When they emerged from the tin can shower twenty minutes later—clean but banged up in several places, Remus sporting a knot where he'd raised up and smacked his head—it was with determination to find a new home asap.

They slept naked, with her wedged between their immense bodies. It wasn't easy on them. Tarus hit the wall with his elbow several times, a volatile faex , the Primarian curse that supposedly wasn't one, erupting from his lips as he shook his hand, trying to relieve the lightning shooting out of his fingertips. And poor Remus, as predicted, hit the floor twice.

Amy found it cozy and woke refreshed because she'd passed the night in her mates' arms without a single dream. This was a first for her in longer than she could remember. It gave her hope this new chapter of her life would be full of love, passion, security, and peaceful sleep.

Their Maker willing.