Deep, Hard, and Rough (10 page)

He led her over to the bed and helped her in it, and
Luna didn’t try to fight him. She kept the blanket tightly around her, but a
little part of her broke for the gentleness that came from Genet. Raimi stood
off to the side, looking slightly uncomfortable.

Here she was, experiencing a total different
spectrum of the life she led. Kindness, the desire to tend to her and make sure
she was whole, and
a warmth
that she had never felt in
a world full of darkness wrapped around her in a protective embrace. She felt
something for these men that were strangers to her, things that she didn’t
understand, and didn’t know if she felt very comfortable with. There was
definitely a pull that had her wanting to be near them, feel their hands on
her, and bask in the glowing heat that came from them. But none of this changed
the fact that she still wanted her freedom. Luna couldn’t even imagine being
with one possessive warrior, let alone three. It was too much.
They
were too much, and if she wasn’t
careful she could easily see herself falling for them.

“Once the fluids have run their course,” he gestured
to the bag of liquid that was attached to the tube that went in her arm, “I
will bring you some
Ketta
broth and
Pana
bread. We will start you off with light food so your
body can become acclimated to solid nourishment.”

He tucked the blankets more firmly around her, and
Luna felt tears start to gather in the corner of her eyes. By his expression
she could tell he sensed her tears, but bless his heart he didn’t comment on it
and embarrass her more.

“I’ll bring you some clothing. Although we have none
for a female, I’ll see if I have something that will fit you.” He smiled, and
Luna felt herself returning the gesture. It was much easier being around these
two, especially when they didn’t go all alpha on her like Erak did.

Genet reached out and smoothed a hand over her. Luna
actually leaned into his touch and immediately felt embarrassed over the fact.

She wasn’t used to people tending to her, at least
not since her adoptive parents died when she was younger. Her world had since
been degradation, violence, bloodshed, and sex, and not in that particular
order. She liked to think she had grown somewhat immune to it, but as she
looked at Raimi and Genet, got lost in their unusually, but beautifully colored
eyes, she realized her skin wasn’t as thick as she had thought. She had only
seen them in the bar, and been in their company for a short while, but
something inside of her just wanted to let go, allow someone to take care of
her, and forget the need to always be on alert and stay alive. Just looking at
these two
men,
and even the possessive and totally
over the top alpha male attitude that came from Erak, she could see herself
letting them protect her in every way possible. They wouldn’t let anything
happen to her, and the fact she realized that with every part of her being,
scared the ever-loving shit out of her. Luna needed to get off this ship, away
from these too potent males, and start her life. That was the only way things
would end up being safe for her body, and her heart.

Chapter
Eight

Erak sparred off with the holographic Aktulla male.
Although the warrior in front of him was nothing more than beams of light, he
was technologically advanced, and was just as superior and fierce as any other
warrior he had come across on the battlefield. Sweat beaded off Erak’s forehead
and dripped down his bare chest. The program he had decided to go with for this
workout wouldn’t allow him to actually make contact with a body, because today
he just wanted to run himself in the ground from exhaustion. A jab to the left,
and a move to the right, had the hologram mimicking Erak’s moves and
counteracting them. They moved back and forth, beads of wetness sliding into
his eyes and making his vision blurry.

All he could think about was Luna. His dick was
uncomfortably hard, which made actually fighting near impossible. She
infuriated him with her defiance, angered him with her independence, and
aroused him more than any other female in the galaxy. Never had he met someone,
male or female, who had challenged his authority and was still standing to declare
they had. He was known for his ruthlessness, for getting what he wanted, and
for never backing down. When she had denied him the simple request to tell him
she was his, Erak had to leave the room or he would have thrown her over his
shoulder, tossed her on the bed, and fucked her into submission. She was
injured, frightened, and knew nothing about them. He continuously reminded
himself that she had lived on a planet that was filled with far more horrors than
she should have ever been subjected to, yet she was still standing strong. She
was their fierce little warrior, but that didn’t make him any less pissed off.

Humans didn’t have mates, not in the sense that his
kind did. They found someone to be with, and it was a mutual emotion that held
them together, but for his kind it went far deeper than that. It was a
chemical, emotional, and psychological reaction inside of them, one that made
it impossible to stay away from their mate once they found them. She didn’t
realize this, not as deeply as she should. He wouldn’t be run off from her,
wouldn’t let her go, and the sooner she accepted that the sooner they could
start experiencing the untold pleasures
that mates
had
with each other.

He threw a right hook, then a left one, and despite
not making contact with an actual body, the hologram faltered from his hits.
His anger grew when he thought of Genet and Raimi. They were insatiable with
other females they had fucked, but when it came to their mate they were almost
docile, giving her the space that she requested. He wanted to rage at them that
doing so would drive her further away. She may be forced to stay with them
while they traveled, but once they landed, she would run. That he had no doubts
about. Once he realized what she was to them he had rerouted his course to
their home planet. It would take several weeks to reach their planet. She had
no idea where they were headed, but he didn’t doubt she would attempt to
escape. He would hunt her, find her, and claim her in the way only his kind
claimed their mate: all-consuming.

Rearing his arm back, feeling his muscles tense,
bunch, and strain, he put all his strength in this hit. His arm went through
the hologram’s face, and the image burst into a thousand little pieces of
sparkling light before disappearing. Erak braced his hands on his thighs and
breathed in and out, forcing himself to stabilize. Maybe he should have used
the program that materialized an actual form, one that he could slam his fist
into over and over again? Instead of feeling exhausted from the fight, he was
even more ramped up, ready to go round two and three. It had been hours since
he left Luna in her room, but he knew Genet and Raimi had stayed to tend to
her. They were far more understanding than he was, and clearly had a lot more
self-control.

Sitting on the floor, he brought his knees up,
rested his head between them, and forced his fucking cock to go down. Fuck, he
was so damn horny for her, and he couldn’t do anything about it.

“You good now or do you want to go a few rounds with
me?” Raimi’s voice held a hint of amusement. Erak lifted his head and looked at
his brother. He stood in the same attire as he did: low hanging black sparring
shorts, a pair of knuckle guards, and nothing else. Erak’s sword was off to the
side, and even though that was his weapon of choice, hand-to-hand combat was
far more exhilarating. As much as he wanted to go
a round
with a living person, see the blood flow and feel bones break, he just wanted
to clean the sweat from his body and pass out into oblivion. Shaking his head
and then standing, he walked over to Raimi and clapped him on the back.

“Nah, I think I have been up for far too many hours,
and if I don’t sleep I’m liable to lose it.” Raimi raised a brow, and Erak
chuckled before he said, “More than I already have.” He started making his way
out of the training pod, but his brother’s voice stopped him.

“You went too far with Luna, Erak.” That had Erak
stopping and looking over his shoulder. The way Raimi said it had his hackles rising.

He turned full around so he faced Raimi. “What is
that supposed to mean?” Raimi stared at him, but Erak couldn’t read his
emotions. That was the thing with his youngest brother: he was far too good at keeping
himself in control. Erak took a step forward and then rolled his head on his
neck. His patience was waning, and he wasn’t in the mood for fucking games. “If
you two want to stand back and watch as our mate pulls away from us, then so be
it. I want her, and I’m not about to apologize for wanting to claim her.”

For a prolonged second Raimi just stood there, but
then he ran a hand over his short hair and spoke. “We want her just as fiercely
as you do, brother, but we also know what hell she’s been through.”

Erak didn’t stop the growl that left him. “You think
I don’t know what she went through? I fucking found her near death when we
first took off.” His anger rose to a dangerous level, and he reminded himself
this was his brother, his blood.

 
“I’m not
about to fight over this with you. I know what rage and energy you harbor
inside, have seen it in you my whole life, All I am saying, and asking,
is
that you give her time to get accustomed to us. She is
human, so very fragile, and needs to come to realize what she is to us in her
own way.”

The silence beat between them, and Erak’s blood
roared in his ears. He knew Raimi was right, but that didn’t mean it didn’t
piss him off to hear it. Suddenly all of that energy left him, and he exhaled.
Running a hand over his hair and feeling the sweat coat his fingers, he forced
himself to stare into his brother’s eyes. “I’m not disagreeing with what you’re
saying, but it’s fucking hard to back off.” Rami’s look was sympathetic, and
that annoyed him.

“Okay, I’m glad you at least realize it. Now go get
some rest.”

Erak nodded, because if he said what he wanted to say,
that Raimi should back the fuck off and leave him the hell alone, it would just
end up causing them to fight, and neither of them needed that right now. He
nodded once, and turned to leave. Yes, sleep was what he needed, but he didn’t
know how much he would actually get, not with this heaviness settling inside of
him.

Shit, he needed to go work out again because his
exhaustion had left as quickly as it had come. Of course Raimi had been right,
and Erak had known he went too far with Luna, but none of that changed the fact
he still wanted to claim her. He turned on his heel and made his way back to
the training pod. Looks like he and Raimi were about to do a little one-on-one
sparring.

Chapter
Nine

A week had passed, and Luna was completely healed,
body wise. There were still times she found herself waking in the middle of the
night covered in sweat with memories of her nightmares playing through her
mind. They were dreams about being with Maximo, of doing untold and unspeakable
things. They were enough to have her losing sleep over, and feeling drained
with every passing day. She found herself drawing closer to Genet and Raimi.
She basked in the gentleness and warmth they gave her. They didn’t push her,
though, and for that she was thankful.

Then there was Erak, with his brooding and almost
angry mannerisms. He kept clear from her, and she did the same, but there was
no denying that whenever their paths would cross sparks would fly between them.
She wanted to hate him for thinking he could place some kind of barbaric claim
on
her,
and that he acted angry with her over the fact
she wouldn’t give in. Instead of staying angry at him though, she found herself
growing wetter and wetter by thoughts of having what she knew was a huge cock
buried deep inside of her. She felt unnerved by her thoughts, by the very vivid
images that played through her mind. She had no experience with sex personally,
but had seen enough of it while living on Kat’aki. Then those thoughts led to
Raimi and Genet watching their older brother
take
her,
and then joining in. The three of them doing things to her that had her toes
curling and her heart racing. Anymore the only thing she would see, smell,
taste, and feel, was them. It was enough that she had shamefully touched
herself while alone in her room, thinking about those dirty and wrong images
that played like a hologram in her mind.

Genet and Raimi had come in and spoken with her days
ago, explaining that Erak had set their course for their home planet. Their
expressions had been wary, and she knew they had probably expected her to be
upset over that fact, but all she wanted was a new home and life, and as long
as it was far away from Kat’aki, she didn’t care where it was. In fact, if she
was being honest, she was looking forward to seeing their home and of knowing
they would be there. She had never felt safer than she did with these three
men, or maybe it was the simple fact she was no longer in Maximo’s sights and
away from that horrid planet? Either way, she’d embrace this new path.

The time illuminated on the wall showed her supper
was starting in a few moments. After taking her meals in her room for several
days after her nightmares, Raimi was the one to coax her out of her hiding.
Most of their meals were eaten in silence, and usually with Erak absent. She
didn’t know why he had withdrawn so much, especially after he had made this big
scene about not stopping until she was theirs. Maybe he had changed his mind, and
given up on this ridiculous notion that she would just give herself to him?
Berating herself continuously that she was a fool to want anything to do with him
did
nothing to ease the steady ache his dominance
caused between her legs. Luna wanted his power over her, surrounding, and
filling her, and she wanted his brothers to be the other side of that spectrum
with their soft touches. Ugh, she was a damn fool, and a crazy one at that.