Trinity Page 4

  “I’m sorry, my lord, I didn’t mean to sound so callous. The drug I used…” She sounded nonplussed.

  Thrax nodded.

  “I’d have told you the truth. It just makes all information accessible when you ask,” she said.

  “I know.” He took a seat. Thrax sat forward on his chair and watched the pilot whose gaze had locked on his charge. “I want you to live a little in my world. I want you to know, first hand, what it’s like to have absolutely no control over your fate. Do you feel it?”

  “I feel it,” the pilot growled possessively coming toward them. The pilot crouched down beside her, slinging an arm around her shoulders. “These negotiations are over. I’m taking her home.”

  “I don’t want to leave.” Neela shrugged off his arm.

  “You can’t, regardless. Not if Elara wants access to our mines.” Thrax leaned back, pyramiding his fingers in front of him. “Until I decide otherwise, you are the guests of the Prillian nation.”

  Neela covered the pilot’s hand with hers. “Stay.”

  Jealously curdled in Thrax’s gut. Though his intention was to force Neela Pharr to see the mining demands from his point of view, he couldn’t deny that he’d hoped to find a level of affection from her. She was a remarkable woman. He’d always wondered what lurked behind the calm facade.

  Apparently, it was an appreciation for the man who served with her.

  King Thrax’s puffed up pride and flashing eyed anger melted every one of her neurons. Absently, she dropped her gaze to his bare chest. His bronzed flesh looked so pliable and warm.

  There was a liberty in not holding back. While she didn’t like the vulnerability, she could appreciate the permission to follow her thoughts wherever they wanted to go. Right now, they wanted to admire the king’s exposed flesh. She didn’t think she should chase that particular flight.

  She licked her lips, trying hard for her natural reserve and coming up dry. The same crazy thrill she’d felt with Tarrel managed to addle her brain beneath Thrax’s regard.

  He lightly gripped her chin and held it. “You are remarkably beautiful, Neela.”

  What did she respond with? Thank you? She was here for a seduction, wasn’t she? Didn’t flattery come as part of that package?

  “I have maids waiting to bathe you in the adjoining bathing room. They’ll see to your needs and dress you,” Thrax told her. “Go.”

  Tarrel grabbed her hand. She looked at him. This is why they were here. In being with the king, would she lose Tarrel? She hoped not.

  Tarrel released his grip on her. Neela stood and left the two men on trembling legs. There was no steadying her nerves. The drug hadn’t left her with any reservoir of hidden strength. She’d weather this on her own while Tarrel watched.

  “You go too. I’ll see to your change of clothing,” she heard Thrax tell Tarrel.

  Neela stepped into an indoor grotto. The rough-hewn walls of the enormous cave reached upward and opened to the sky. Though it was raining, a force field had been erected and droplets splattered far above her head, the moisture never touching her. Against one wall, a gentle waterfall fed a pool of clear blue-green water. Four women draped in sheer white cloth stood thigh-deep in the water.

  She heard a noise and spun, preparing for battle. It was a ridiculous reaction given that she was here to bathe, but automatic all the same.

  Two women stood by the entrance. The first one moved toward her with a smile. “I’m Aleena. I’ll attend you.”

  Neela nodded her consent. The woman helped her undress as Tarrel entered the room. The second woman saw to him. They exchanged looks.

  “I thought I was the only one giving it up for the Elarans,” she teased.

  “You were until King Thrax reached into my head and got an eyeful.”

  Her gaze narrowed on him. “What, exactly, were you thinking at the time?”

  Aleena supported her while Neela stepped out of her pants. She had nothing left but her undergarments now. The same lacy style she’d worn when she’d been intimate with Tarrel on the skiff, but in black. Like then, Tarrel’s distracted gaze took a dive.

  “Ever been in a sandwich before?” he asked, laughing.

  Oh, God. Why did that suggestion make her stomach drop and roll right into the path of that delicious tingle starting at her pussy? He had to have heard her gasp.

  She looked away from him as Aleena pulled the black panties away from Neela’s belly and down her legs. The bra clasp came next. It was a shame King Thrax wouldn’t see her pretty garments. She’d bought them especially for this occasion.

  “I hope Thrax intended to ask my opinion on the matter,” she said when she’d regained her voice.

  Tarrel stepped up beside her, already naked. “Does it matter? You’re his for the duration,” he said tightly.

  “His. Not yours.”

  He dropped his hands on his lean hips. His jaw clenched.

  “Are you saying you’re finished with me?”

  Not even close, she realized. The nearer he stood, the faster her pulse raced. Human type sexual attraction made clear thought a challenge.

  Tarrel tipped up her chin, a wicked smile on his lips. “I didn’t think so.”

  Aleena led her to the edge of the water. It lapped at her toes as warm as a bath. She kept walking down the gradual incline. Two of the other women met her and took a hand each, leading her deeper still.

  Aleena left her and Neela anxiously looked back. “Where are you going?”

  “I’ll return with your garments in a few moments.”

  Neela nodded, although the woman didn’t need her approval and was moving away to see to her task. She heard Tarrel join his two assistants, but kept her back to him. Somehow standing in the water naked, the hands of total strangers on her as they cleaned her, made her feel more vulnerable than confessing her desire for Tarrel in the shuttle.

  She couldn’t say it was more revealing than the tears she’d shed after the most profound sexual experience of her life with him. This was different. Not awkward, but she felt atypically shy. Perhaps it was the sweet melody of splashing water from the falls, or the swish when they leaned her backward to rinse her hair and the way it felt weightless in the water. When the water broke over her breasts, she found herself arching her back so that they glistened in the natural light.

  She knew she was being watched. She knew the women who cleaned her and the man she’d flown with were admiring her body as much as she wanted them to. So why did it make her feel flush with timidity and increase the rapid pounding of her heart.

  The women floated her whole body, her feet coming off the bottom. Her pubis broke the surface, tickled by the edge of water that lined her body. Delicate hands supported her back and thighs. Gently her legs were opened.

  Neela stiffened.

  “Relax, Neela. You need to be readied.” Aleena’s muffled voice reached her through the thin barrier of water over her ears.

  Warm skin brushed her cheek, and Neela turned her head to see. Tarrel’s heavy lidded gaze blinked back at her upside down where he floated beside her. Touching, but not linked, they were nonetheless connected.

  Soapy hands rubbed her shoulders and arms as the four women continued to clean them. Utterly relaxed and completely aroused, her body continued to awaken under their dedicated pursuit. The hands moved over her, each woman beginning at one extreme and moving toward the middle. The woman at the top smoothed soapy hands over her breasts.

  Neela bit her lip to keep from making noise.

  They massaged her, avoiding her nipples until they were tight and desperate. The water drying on them only added to her growing impatience. Finally, slim fingers feathered over the aching tips, circled the areola and skimmed back over her nipples with an edge of nail.

  Neela whimpered. A long, low groan left Tarrel at the same time as she could only imagine he was getting the same preparatory treatment.

  Her thighs parted wider as the other woman moved between her legs. The fabric
from the attendant’s garment tickled the sensitive flesh. The sensations on her nipples weren’t nearly intense enough to satisfy her, but the thumbs stroking the inner crease of both thighs kept her silent. She wanted to ask, say anything to encourage them. If she did, she feared they’d stop. Or she feared they wouldn’t.

  Neela had barely come to terms with the intensity of sex in her current inhibited state. She hadn’t yet developed an opinion on it. Intensity had definitely developed. Lust. Heat. Hunger. All those things she associated with being the baser characteristics of humanity, that alien species that thought with their hearts before their minds.

  She’d always pitied the race that seemed incapable of leaving emotion out of its decisions. Maybe she’d been too hasty. This tide of urges seemed addicting. How would she return to her former life, knowing what she knew now, and never experiencing it again? Did she even want to?

  Her own weakness disgusted her. She was a pathetic vessel waiting to be filled with one new experience after another, all of them geared toward her pleasure. What did that make her?

  Tarrel moaned again. He must’ve jerked because water rippled over her cheeks. Neela held her breath just as one of her attendants lifted her high enough to avoid getting her face wet.

  Once she’d been resettled, those hands got back to work. Fingers rolled over her nipples in easy circles. Her apex tingled. The other attendant swept her fingers over Neela’s pussy lips. Neela felt distinctly on edge. A rogue finger dipped into the seam, catching and springing her clit. She cried out. Soft kisses dropped on her distended nub as thumbs held her open for the erotic attention. A tiny lick, another kiss, a soft sigh against her heated wet pussy and suddenly she was being helped to her feet.

  Dazed and disappointed, she wobbled on her feet wondering what fresh kind of torture she was being forced to endure. Tarrel appeared baffled as she.

  “Come with me,” Aleena spoke through the haze.

  “I’d love to but I feel like the point of this is to give me one helluva case of blue balls,” Tarrel complained.

  Aleena smiled. “But you are ready, are you not?”

  For relief? Yes, she was. More than ready. Her body trembled with need. If someone would just fuck her ruthlessly, she’d be a very happy woman right now.

  Neela practically stumbled from the pool in her urgency to get on with it. Aleena held up a gauzy garment made of transparent purple cloth that draped from shoulder to cunt. The deep vee allowed for nipples and the outsides of her breasts to be covered. Otherwise, she was bare. Aleena meticulously dried her hair and turned her to face Tarrel.

  His black garment started low across his hips, tented over his full erection and dropped just below his balls. She could see through his wrap as easily as he could see through hers. And he looked. But then so did she.

  She fixated on his heavy cock. Her pussy wept to have him inside her, but she wouldn’t. Not yet.

  Tarrel and Neela were led into the royal chambers.

  Thrax hadn’t changed. Other than the cloak and sandals that he’d discarded, he still wore the hip-drape of tanned leather, and the amulet of his office. His gaze raked over her.

  “This suits you far better than your Elaran military uniform,” he murmured appreciatively.

  He closed the distance. Thrax cupped her breast. Neela moaned, leaning into his touch as her eyes closed. This is what she wanted. How much longer did she need to wait until he took her to his bed?

  “Now, please, my King,” she whispered brokenly.

  Chapter Four

  Her words washed over the king, leaving behind goose bumps in their wake. He’d wanted to hear those words since the first time he’d seen her three years back. He’d never imagined she’d say them. He’d never imagined that his half-tossed comment that he’d only trade ore with the Elarans for her body would be taken seriously. Or delivered upon.

  He was a man of his word though. He’d follow through. Even if she changed her mind, despite what he’d said earlier. First, he needed to know her true desires about what would happen here. He didn’t want an obedient puppet in his bed. He wanted Neela. Strong, belligerent, self-contained Neela whose dark eyes and darker hair had plagued his dreams and his fantasies.

  “Neela,” he began quietly. “I’ll trade with your government. They can make an offer for my ore. You’re free to go.”

  She looked at him with confused eyes.

  “I want you.” He moved closer, speaking into her upturned face. “I want you like no other woman I’ve known. But I want you, not your obedience.”

  “You have me,” she answered.

  He forsook her breast to stroke a tender thumb across her full bottom lip. “I only want you if you also want me. Think about what I’m saying, Neela. Think carefully. Do you want me because the woman in you desires me, or do you want me only to fulfill a struck bargain?”

  Breath parted her lips as she studied his eyes. Slowly, she smiled. “I want you because I’m a woman who’s attracted to a man.”

  He knew it was the truth simply by virtue of the drug she’d taken. It wasn’t enough of a confirmation. “And the Elaran agreement? Would you be standing her before me, naked and willing, if it didn’t exist?”

  “I wouldn’t because I’d never have come alone without it. It brought me to this circumstance and this moment. I wouldn’t have been granted access to you otherwise.”

  “You know what I’m asking,” he redirected her.

  “I know,” she agreed. “If I were standing before you in a uniform and as myself, I’d still desire you. I wouldn’t give into the temptation because it’s not my way. But I’d want to. I’d want to very much.”

  “Thank you,” he said, dropping a kiss on her forehead. He stroked her neck with the backs of his fingers. “I want to lie with you. Alone. If you allow it, I’d enjoy sharing you with Tarrel later. Is that acceptable to you?”

  Neela licked her lips. “I want you to share me with him.”

  Thrax smiled. “Then I will. I won’t share myself with him, but I’ll enjoy watching him fuck you while you beg for more.”

  Neela’s breath caught.

  He reached beneath her garment, cupping her pussy and slid a finger deep inside her. Neela bit back a moan as she rocked her hips to meet his hand.

  “Wet,” he said, pleased. “I have a gift for you.”

  Thrax turned to leave. Neela’s hand curled around his upper arm. Her brow drew together uncertainly. “My king, you said the ore is agreed to regardless of what happens between us.”

  “I did. Call me Thrax instead of king. In my bedchamber, we are equals.” She still seemed uncertain. “Are you afraid?”

  “No, but sex isn’t the same. I feel-stripped.”

  He smiled and took her hand, leading her to a table off to the side. It had an injection pump on it. “This pump spray has the antidote to the inhibitor you took. I’d like to give it to you, if you’ll let me.”

  Her gaze shot to his. “You’d allow that?”

  “Why wouldn’t I? Neela Pharr attracted me to her. I want to know what you’re feeling. I want to share them with you, but not if being intimate makes you uncomfortable. I’m no threat to you. If you need your emotions curbed, then I’ll give you the option to do so.”

  She stared at him in disbelief. He’d give up the right to know her mind? It was a gift she hadn’t expected. It meant she had her full control back if she took it. It meant no more tears unless she released the iron grip she kept on herself.

  She glanced back at Tarrel who had remained standing in silence for the duration of their arrival in the king’s chamber. He seemed as taken aback as she was. He lifted an eyebrow, an expression she often saw from him when he was waiting for her next move.

  “No,” she said after a moment. She lifted her gaze boldly to his. “I want to feel everything without restriction. I need to know what this is before I discard the opportunity.”

  “So this is a personal awakening for you,” he said rather than aske
d.

  “It’s a battle with myself I’ve never had to wage. Sexuality, lust, focus and reserve are on different sides of the spectrum. I’ve never understood the human, or the Prillian way to feel everything to the point of distraction.”

  “Feeling isn’t a war or a price,” Tarrel said behind her. “It’s an extension of the actual experience that fills out the details into something memorable. Like us, on the skiff.”

  Thrax laughed. “Tarrel, if you’re trying to make me jealous, you’ll fail. I’m fully aware that a grown woman will have many partners in her life cycle. You and I are only two.”

  “I want to be the last,” Tarrel told them.

  Thrax’s smile faded. “That’s becoming my equal hope.”

  She looked between the two men as their words sank in. She wanted them both. She was attracted to both. She’d never considered a permanent life with any man, but then her kind didn’t generally believe in monogamy. That was an emotional reaction to family that the Elarans didn’t share with other alien species. Yet as these two men shared their thoughts on the subject, she realized that it didn’t scare her or disgust her. It appealed on a level she’d never anticipated.

  She’d enjoyed sex with Tarrel. A lot, actually. She wanted to have it again and she wanted to see the look in his eyes when he came inside her and showered her with kisses she knew to be emotionally delivered. She wanted the same from Thrax.

  Could both men love her? Continuously? Was there a reason to pick one man over the other? Would they allow her to have both men?

  She mentally shook herself. As yet, that hadn’t been offered. She’d gotten too far ahead of herself. What’s to say that after these few days the men would even want more of her? The king had access to any number of women in and outside his realm. He had political attachments and reasons to see those attachments through. Tarrel, too, was a favorite among the women. He was a novelty for Elaran women who wanted to have a man make love to them and lose himself in their bodies like no Elaran man would. Humans wanted him too. As men went, he was a fine specimen in every way.