Alcandian Rage Read online

  “Zeva? Come and eat.”

  Her eyes moved to Keenan without her approval. Zeva scolded herself for looking at the warrior but her eyes didn’t care. They moved over the prime picture of strength he made. She traced his lips as hers tingled with memory and longing. The heat rose into a wave that crashed into her body and filled her passage with need. A slight step behind her made her jump and she swung around with her leg already snapping out in a solid kick.

  Ravid sent his body out of her path and ended up falling into the lake. Water rose from the warrior’s huge body as it hit the smooth surface and Zeva landed in a perfect fighting stance. Ravid was sitting on his butt in the shallow water with an incredulous look on his face.

  Water splashed onto her as Keenan choked behind her. It was a poor attempt to cover his amusement and Ravid snarled at his companion. Zeva covered her mouth with a slim hand as she caught the soft sounds of the attending teams’ laughter. She backed up slightly as Ravid climbed to his feet.

  “You really shouldn’t sneak up on people. Keenan was talking to me and, well, I just didn’t expect you to come up behind me.” Her apology was ruined as a giggle escaped her hold on her emotions. Water dripped from Ravid as he stalked from the lake. Zeva spread her hands open in innocence. “It was pure instinct, Ravid.”

  The delight simmering in her eyes made it impossible to remain angry. Ravid felt it hit him in the solar plexus like a hard fist. This was the woman he was allowed to laugh with. There was a part of him that wanted to smile like a young boy just because he knew she would tease him back.

  But the cock in his pants hardened painfully as he considered where play could lead with a fully grown woman.

  Ravid snagged her wrist and Zeva squealed. Caught up in another round of giggling, the unexpected capture made it impossible to hold her surprise in. Ravid gave a swift tug on her arm and her body tumbled towards his dripping wet one. Zeva ducked under his arm and went splashing out into the swallows as she broke the grip on her wrist. Ravid turned on her with a devil’s grin and crooked a finger at her.

  “Come here, Zeva, I want to give you a hug.”

  “No, thank you!” She jumped back and her shoes slipped in the mud on the bottom of the lake. The water wasn’t very deep but it rose to her knees as she tried to scamper around Ravid and back onto shore. The warrior stretched out his huge arms that were dripping water and prevented her from getting back onto the shore without moving within his reach.

  Ravid grinned at her rejection. “Ah, Zeva, forgive me, I am wet.” He reached for the two buttons at the waist of his coat, one on either side of his chest and snapped them open. He shrugged the wet fabric down his arms and tossed it onto the shore.

  Zeva felt her lungs freeze. His chest was magnificent. Sculpted into ridges of solid strength. That heat returned with full force as it slammed into her body, making her ache for the same freedom from her own clothing. He crooked his finger at her again.

  Zeva shook her head but couldn’t quite force her mouth to form any words of rejection. Her body wanted to obey him and it took every last scrap of willpower she had to shake her head.

  One dark eyebrow rose as his arms stretched out again. Ravid gave a low growl that made her shiver. This time the sound wasn’t one of anger. It rumbled out of his wide chest proclaiming how strong he was…how male he was. Her passage actually clenched as she shifted away from him.

  Her motion caught his attention. Ravid lunged after her and captured her body as she turned to run. His arms closed around her waist and he clasped her against his body. His face was pressed against her breasts as he walked out of the water.

  “Keenan! I have caught a deporth.” His steps made her head wobble, held above him as she was, and Zeva placed her hands on his shoulders to steady her body. Keenan laughed as Ravid brought her toward him. A deporth was a mythical chether born of starshine. Alcandian girls tossed flowers into lakes hoping a deporth would find the blooms pretty enough to grant them a wish that night.

  “Then hold onto her, brother, else she will melt back into the water and be lost.”

  One of her shoes was pulled off her foot as Ravid reached the lantern light. Keenan tossed the wet ankle boot aside before he reached for the other one. The warm night air hit her bare toes as he rubbed the arch of her foot. Her pants were wet up to her knees but Keenan ignored them as Ravid lowered her to her feet. She was grateful he had left her pants on and knew it was done against his desire. Heat burned in Keenan’s eyes as he leaned forward to gently inhale her scent. Neither warrior was actually touching her in that moment but she stood between their bodies with the heat from their skin teasing her bare arms. Her body shivered. The tremor shook her spine as her fingertips longed to touch Ravid’s bare chest.

  “We had best eat, Zeva.”

  Food did not interest her, but having Keenan’s and Ravid’s attention directed away from her body did. Her stomach was twisted into a knot as her eyes once again roamed over Ravid’s bare chest. She lowered her lashes and sat down to avoid the arms connected to that chest. They were covered in more of the same perfection and her fingertips longed to smooth over the ridges.

  Food appeared as Keenan pressed one of the small command compression areas on his wrist link. Ravid still wore his as well—Judgment officials never took them off. They were specially formed to allow the skin beneath to breathe. Three large platters of food appeared with steam rising from them. Wormhole technology was useful in many ways. Keenan could place the order for food and have it delivered at the touch of a command key. The food would wait in stasis and never grow cold until it materialized.

  Zeva pulled a piece of food from a plate and put it in her own mouth. The action was rude but she couldn’t stop the nervous habit. Her body was too full of strange longings tonight.

  Keenan caught her wrist an inch from her lips and turned her hand towards his face. His fingers closed around hers making her hold onto the food as he brought his lips down to it. His lips closed over her fingertips as he nipped the food out of her grip. He held her hand as he chewed the food before he opened his mouth to gently suck the remaining sauce from her fingers. His tongue left her skin as he growled. “Sweet.”

  Zeva jumped and would have stood up except Ravid’s arm was over her folded legs. If she moved she would collide with his bare chest again. She sucked in a deep breath as she fought for control. This was madness! But she craved it.

  Zeva grabbed another piece of food and offered it to Ravid. They could not touch her body first, only her hands, so she had to keep her body still and feed them. If she moved into Ravid’s body, he was allowed to embrace her because she had touched him first.

  There was something raging inside her to tempt them beyond their control. Push the limits of how long she might hold them away from her. Zeva fought her own need as the smell of their skin made her ache for much deeper contact than fingers to lips.

  It was a game of temptation. One that tested the trust of a female for her intended binding mates. They enticed and waited until she succumbed. Ravid’s bare chest made her shiver as he bit into the food in her hand. He took only half the bite and slowly chewed it. Her eyes flickered over the arm he had braced over her legs as she tried to keep her attention on the task at hand. His bare skin made it nearly impossible and Zeva struggled to hide her growing fascination with his chest.

  Both males could discard their clothing whenever they wished, that was part of the temptation. She was bound only to have bare arms and hands for this first official courting meeting. At the next, though, they held the right to inspect her nude body.

  Ravid’s mouth closed around her fingers as he took the last of her offering. He chewed the food and didn’t release her hand. His fingers closed around hers as he stroked the center of her palm while watching her eyes. He offered her a taste of the meal as he pulled her hand closer to his body to keep her close to him. She had turned away from Keenan before he could feed her in return.

  Her throat contracted
. There was too much heat twisting in her belly for food. The scent of the meat actually made her nauseous as her stomach violently refused to have anything in it.

  Ravid’s eyes closed to slits as his lips pressed into a firm line of disapproval. Zeva didn’t offer any reason for her refusal to eat—all her reasons sounded weak and she refused to voice them. She did not understand her body at that moment and decided to simply not try. “I am not hungry.”

  For food.

  Her hand fell the last inch to his forearm and smoothed up its corded length. A sigh of delight filled the air as she moved that hand all the way to Ravid’s shoulders. Zeva couldn’t stop her hand, he felt too good. Skin to skin made her shiver with pleasure.

  Ravid’s expression instantly changed. He dropped the food and caught the side of her face with his hand. His mouth landed on hers as Zeva surged off the blanket.

  His lips pushed hers open as she backed into Keenan. Two hands landed on her shoulders in response. A moan caught in her mouth as Ravid took a deep taste from her lips and Keenan moved towards his companion, pressing her towards that bare chest. Her fingertips demanded contact with Ravid’s skin. At that moment she couldn’t think beyond the knowledge of how close Ravid was to her. His mouth took hers and filled her senses with his taste. She needed to touch him. Feel how strong he was and let that knowledge mingle with the taste of his kiss.

  Ravid’s chest rumbled with approval as her hands gently touched him. It was almost a whisper of a brush—skin against skin, as Zeva used only her fingertips to test how warm his male flesh was.

  Pure sensation poured through her fingers and into her hands. It shot up her arms as gooseflesh rose around each tiny nerve ending. Her nipples tightened unbearably as she tore her mouth from Ravid’s and panted. She was too hot and her lungs couldn’t get enough air into them.

  “Touch me, ruthima.” It was another demand but her temper didn’t rise to challenge it. Instead her fingers slid over his collarbones until they found his shoulders. Her palms joined the connection as she cupped each shoulder and found the corded muscles where they began their length down each of his arms.

  She had to stop…this was pure madness.

  Keenan turned her head as her eyelids fluttered and lifted. His blazed at her before his mouth touched hers. It was a light touch of male lips, gently tasting hers and testing the smooth surface of her mouth before she opened her lips to invite a deeper kiss.

  Keenan did not disappoint her. His mouth pressed hers open as his hand cupped the side of her head and held her in place for his kiss. He deepened the contact as his tongue stroked the length of hers, slowly introducing her to the feel of their mouths mating.

  Zeva threaded her fingers through Keenan’s hair but left one hand on Ravid as she found herself craving both men. Her passage twisted again and this time she knew that the only answer to the craving was the two warriors touching her. She needed them closer as the heat grew more intense. It burned away everything but the three of them. Pleasure broke through her uncertainty as Keenan stroked her tongue once more.

  Ravid cupped her breast. Even through her jacket the contact was jarring. Zeva gasped as she jerked away from Keenan to stare at Ravid. His eyes burned into hers as his fingers cupped her breast and gently squeezed it. “You like that, Zeva. The pleasure dances across your eyes.”

  She did but felt exposed under his burning gaze. Ravid moved his hand until he stroked the bare upper swell of that same breast. She gasped with pleasure as his lips lifted in a smug grin. But there was more in his eyes than conquest—Ravid wanted to see her pleasure.

  Her lungs were pulling air in too fast to reply. Instead she listened to her own whimper as his fingers released and his thumb passed over her nipple. The hard nub exploded with pleasure as it begged for freedom from her clothing. There was a twin plea from her other nipple and a deep pulsing from her passage. Pressed between the folds of her sex was another swollen nub that clamored for attention.

  Ravid could smell her arousal. It drove his into a frenzy as he battled for control. His cock tightened further, threatening to spill its seed from the scent of her wet body alone. The sight of her bare breasts was going to drive him insane but he was powerless to resist the urge to willingly proceed to his own doom.

  His thumb moved over her nipple again as sweat covered his forehead. “Show me your body, Zeva. Let me taste this nipple.”

  Oh yes!

  A moan was the best her pride did to drown out her hungry flesh. Keenan caught her head and found her neck with his lips. New fingers of flames shot down her body into her breasts and she just didn’t care. She needed Ravid to free her from her jacket. She wanted to burn the uncomfortable garment so that it could never torment her skin again. Keenan stopped at the collar and Zeva moaned as the garment kept him from going any further. “I am going to open your jacket, shihori.”

  Her hands didn’t want to leave Ravid’s arms. She moved them over his biceps as her eyes closed. Pure pleasure floated around her. Keenan shifted and there was a slight popping sound as he opened the two waist buttons on her jacket. The night air was blissfully cool as it stroked her breasts.

  A harsh sound of male approval made her lift her eyelids. Ravid’s face was harsh as he looked at her breasts. Her confidence wavered as she saw his eyes flicker over her nipples. Her breasts were large for her frame. Often she bound them when teaching because they distracted her. Until tonight she had never really thought about whether or not they were attractive breasts. They were just part of her body.

  Keenan’s hands cupped each globe and she shivered. Pleasure surrounded each breast as Ravid licked his lower lip. Zeva watched the fascination hold his attention as Keenan gently lifted her breasts and brushed the nipples with his thumbs. No hint of jealousy interfered in the moment. Ravid was enjoying the moment of shared delight. Keenan could feel her breasts as he took the first look at them. Caught between them, her body rejoiced.

  Ravid’s arms encircled her waist. He slid his hands over her bare skin and pulled her towards him as Keenan let her breast go. Keenan caught the edges of her open jacket and pulled the garment down her arms as Ravid bent to capture a nipple with his lips. The warrior lifted her up with his powerful arms and bent her over them, thrusting her breasts up for his mouth to feed on.

  Keenan moved even closer until she could see his eyes watching her and Ravid. A harsh cry escaped her mouth as Ravid sucked her nipple into his mouth. Heat blazed over the tight button making her body convulse. Pleasure shot down her core as she gripped his head to hold him in place. She wanted him to keep sucking on her breast and she bent her back even further to offer it to his attention.

  “You taste delicious,” Ravid growled as he trailed his lips across her chest to her other nipple. He shifted and caught her legs with his arm to lift her completely from the ground. Her nipple popped free as Ravid knelt and laid her on the blanket. Ravid moved until her back rested against his chest and Keenan stroked her thigh with his firm hand.

  Keenan pressed her legs apart as Ravid cupped her breasts and rolled her nipples between his fingers.

  Her cry hit the night as Keenan rubbed his hands over her hips. The need to move her bottom coursed though her. One of Keenan’s hands stroked over her belly and she lifted her hips towards it.

  Heat consumed her as Ravid pulled on her nipple without any hint of stopping. Keenan stroked her belly and moved to the top of her sex. Her passage ached as he stopped just at the very top of her mons. Her hips jerked upwards seeking the touch of that hand as Ravid returned to her opposite breast.

  Her hands were tightened onto Ravid’s arms as Keenan answered her body’s plea. He sent his hand over her sex as his thigh lifted to spread her legs further apart. His fingers barely touched her clit before she convulsed with pleasure. He rubbed her mons and her bottom lifted for him. Everything twisted tighter inside her passage as she ached for the hard thrust of his male body.

  Despite the fabric of her pants, her body jerked an
d shattered in a storm of sensation that caused her passage to contract.

  “I-I can’t…breathe!” Zeva shoved at her companions but they held her between their bodies as they stroked her. Her heart felt too large in her chest as it expanded and pumped frantically.

  “Ruthima,” Ravid muttered against her hair as he smoothed her head onto his shoulder. Keenan’s hand still rested on her sex as he firmly refused to release it as she wiggled. He watched her face as he stroked her sex a few last times. He moved his hand up her belly and over her bare breast to cup her jaw and smooth her neck with its pulsing artery. His cock throbbed with need and he enjoyed the bite of hard arousal. The scent of her wet body promised him satisfaction, and very soon.

  “Now you see, ruthima. Your body was meant for us to master.”

  Zeva’s eyes flew open as her senses stopped whirling. She surged to her feet and stood over Keenan before she found her voice. “Master?” She growled the word as her arms crossed over her chest to hide her breasts. A wave of liquid satisfaction washed through her as she stepped away from the two warriors. They pushed to their feet as she retreated once again.

  “I will not be owned.”

  Ravid frowned darkly at her. “Yet I will master you, Zeva. Mating is not soft, it is primal and I will conquer you. You crave it as much as I do.” His nostrils flared as he flexed his fingers and moved towards her. “Admit it.”

  “Not tonight.” Their eyes battled as Ravid’s mind linked with hers. His desire was raw and she found it intoxicating. “Take me back to my mother.” She said it to taunt him. Her voice rose high enough to carry to the warriors who watched them. Ravid could not refuse to honor her request and Zeva enjoyed that moment of being the one to master Ravid. Her conscience warned her that it was just one skirmish in a long war but the sparks shooting from Ravid’s eyes made her crave more engagements with him.