Alien Salvation (19 page)

She sat next to him, but when the
Imdiko lifted a chunk of meat to her lips, she tried to take it
from him. Japohn was immediately next to her, grabbing her
wrists.

Lindsey blew out an explosive breath
and glared at him. “Okay, okay! Treat me like a helpless baby if it
makes you happy.” She let Vax feed her.

Japohn crooked a smile. To Vax he said,
“You tell me Lindsey no allow feed. I punish her.” He mock-glared
at her.

“Tyrant,” she said around the mouthful
of food.

He bent to kiss her cheek. “I hunt.
Many to feed.”

Japohn left them, darting another
warning glare at Lindsey before walking out. Vax
chuckled.

“Oh, be quiet,” she said, but she
accepted the food he gave her. She didn’t want to be spanked so
soon after the pain of the stun wave. Even though the thought of
Japohn’s heavy hand descending on her buttocks made her feel all
squirmy inside.

Boy, Kalquorians are dominating
creatures. I wonder if Jessica had half the problems with her
clan.

Chapter Eleven

The clan, along with Lindsey and her
family, left the refugees behind with two deer carcasses and the
promise of rescue as soon as they reached the search party. There
wasn’t enough room on the shuttle to accommodate the group, but
with a supply of food and the threat of Tragooms done, everyone
agreed it was the best option for all concerned.

They’d found the Tragoom ship, part of
which had been constructed of an old Kalquorian transport. Bacoj
cannibalized it for parts and made more repairs to his own
shuttle’s engine, which was beginning to sound the worse for wear.
Lindsey noted the serious set of his jaw with unease, but when she
asked him if the craft was all right he’d only replied, “Get
Lindsey family to search party if carry on backs.” Which didn’t
lift her spirits at all.

As they flew towards the gulf coast,
Lindsey sat across from her parents in the main cabin. Vax and
Japohn sat at the other table. They had been discussing some
Kalquorian game for quite some time in their own language and the
conversation was apparently getting heated. Vax responded to Japohn
in a loud voice, his fist clubbing the table top. Japohn rolled his
eyes and spoke back just as loudly.

Lindsey shook her head at them. “Look
at them arguing about some silly game,” she said to her
mother.

Tara chuckled. “Not so different from
our men, are they? How many times has your father yelled at a
boxing match on the vid?”

“Yes, well in a household full of
females, I needed to thump my chest every once in awhile,” Aaron
said. “Kurble sounds like fun to watch, though the idea of poisoned
barbs on the ball is rather extreme.”

“What do you think of this clan,
Dad?”

“They’re a good bunch.” His warm smile
froze and faded. Lindsey saw him figure out why she’d asked the
question, her heart in her throat. “Oh Lindsey. Really?”

Tara patted his arm. “They treat her
well, Aaron. What’s more, they’re obviously taken with
her.”

“But three men? It just seems
unnatural.”

Lindsey watched him struggle. Her
father was a man who lived firmly by his beliefs to not judge
others for however they chose to live their lives. Still, he was
obviously not ready for his daughter to follow such an un-Earther
path.

“Jessica is clanned to three men,” she
pointed out.

He scowled. “And don’t think it hasn’t
worried me half to death.” He darted a glance at the still arguing
Imdiko and Nobek. “You just met them, Lindsey.”

“You proposed to me two days after we
met,” Tara reminded him. “We never had a doubt.”

“There’s no such thing as divorce where
the Kalquorians concerned. It’s a lifelong bond. There’s no getting
out of it if things don’t work out the way you’re
hoping.”

Lindsey took a deep breath. He was
voicing all her concerns, making her face the worries that still
remained. But looking at the three of them — granted she was
looking at the back of Bacoj’s head as he piloted — every cell of
her being yearned to be closer to them. Maybe it was only
infatuation. Maybe she was being a fool. But Lindsey knew she’d be
absolutely miserable if she never saw them again. Their strength,
their compassion, their kindness spoke to her. No Earther man had
ever had the same effect.

To her father she said, “I wouldn’t
contemplate it if I wasn’t in it for the long haul. I can’t explain
why I want to be with them, not in sane, rational terms. It just
feels right.”

Tara leaned her head on Aaron’s
shoulder. “It’s obvious they care for her. They look at her the way
you look at me.”

Aaron sat quietly for awhile, his
expression grave. At long last, he sighed. “I’m not going to turn
cartwheels over this. If it’s what you really want I won’t protest.
But Lindsey, be sure. Most people don’t know right away like your
mother and I did.”

She smiled at him, feeling her love for
her father at full force. “Have I told you what a great dad you
are?”

That got him to smile. “Have they asked
yet?”

A little of her certainty of the clan’s
reciprocated feelings slumped. But Japohn had called her his
Matara. That had to count for something. Still…

“Not yet.”

Tara nodded. “Not surprising. They’re
physically strong, self-assured when it comes to a battle, but they
seem a little unsure of themselves emotionally. Maybe you should
ask them.”

Lindsey’s heart skipped a beat. “Oh
boy.”

“Why not?”

Lindsey laughed nervously, and both Vax
and Japohn paused in their argument to look at her. She ducked her
head and lowered her voice. “You’d think it would be easy for a
woman who can face off with Tragooms without flinching.”

Aaron offered his own rueful chuckle.
“Matters of the heart are scarier than physical fighting. You could
have soaked a towel when I proposed to your mother. I was sweating
that bad.”

Lindsey watched them look at each
other, the affection in their eyes obvious. Even when they
disagreed, which didn’t happen often, the adoration was palpable.
She’d never known a couple who exemplified perfect love as much as
her parents. Could she really hope to have that, and with three
aliens to boot?

Putting the cart before the horse,
Lindsey. They still have to say yes if I get the guts to actually
ask them.

* * * *

They reached the gulf coast that
evening, setting down on a rain-swept beach. After more deer meat
for dinner, the group spent the early evening in the main cabin
exchanging common phrases of their respective languages. Lindsey’s
family was a bit embarrassed when the clan picked up English with
far more ease than the Earthers could handle Kalquorian. Japohn in
particular seized on their language, his grammar at times as good
as any native English speaker, though slang phrases still baffled
him. Of the Earthers, Aaron had a knack for Kalquorian. Initially
he’d been quiet, no doubt still trying to comprehend Lindsey’s
attraction to the alien men. But as the evening wore on, easy
camaraderie with the clan grew and his tension eased. By the time
he and Tara were ready to retire to the sleeping room, he was
laughing with the other men at the women’s sometimes hilarious
mistakes, especially when Tara mangled the phrase ‘I am glad to
meet you’; instead stating, “I am glad to be chewing on
you.”

After the elder McInnesses retired,
Lindsey and the clan sat around the main cabin, watching the rain
fall in steady sheets outside the open hatch. Lindsey was no fan of
rain, not since nearly being killed as a child from the storm that
produced the tornado. But there was no wind, and for no rational
reason she felt protected with the clan.

They make me feel safe. Even when they
go all Tarzan-in-charge so I’m completely helpless, I still feel
secure. And Dad likes them despite himself.

So what am I waiting for?

Lindsey took a deep breath and plunged
in headfirst. “I’d like to join your clan.”

Three pairs of startled purple eyes
swung her way. His voice barely loud enough to be heard over the
snare-drumming rain, Bacoj asked in a disbelieving voice, “Our
Matara?”

Oh crap. They don’t want me after
all.

But she’d already gone for bust, so
there was no point in trying to backpedal. Keeping the quaver in
her guts out of her voice she confirmed, “Yes, I’d like to be your
Matara. If you want me.”

The three men exchanged looks, smiles
erupting on their faces. Japohn laughed out loud. “We want you
much!”

Vax bobbed his head up and down, his
grin blinding in his dark face. “Yes. We want Lindsey for
Matara.”

“You ask us,” Bacoj chuckled. “We spend
today try to think how to ask you.”

Tension bled from Lindsey’s body.
“Thank goodness. I thought you might say no.”

“We say yes, yes, yes!”

Lindsey had to laugh at the undisguised
delight on their expressions. Despite acknowledging how much she
wanted to be a permanent part of their lives, she hadn’t fully
appreciated how disappointed she’d be if they’d turned her
down.

“So now what happens?” she asked. She
had no clue how long Kalquorian engagements went on for or what
their clanning ceremonies entailed.

“Make love?” Japohn pulled her into his
lap. He was very happy to have her there she realized as she
wriggled against the hard prod under her bottom.

She punched his chest good-naturedly.
“I mean how do I become part of your clan, you sex
fiend.”

Bacoj slid close to touch her.
“Clanning done. We want you, you want us, you are clan
Matara.”

She gaped at him, shock replacing the
warm fuzzies she’d been enjoying. “That’s it? That’s all it takes
for a lifetime commitment?”

Vax had also moved near, his good hand
joining those of his clanmates in stroking her hair, face and body.
“Official ceremony announce clanning, but you now clan
Matara.”

Lindsey stared at each man in turn.
Just like that, she’d entered into a permanent arrangement. She
fought off a surge of panic. “I didn’t realize it was that
easy.”

“Sometimes clan ties be challenge.
Important families can make difficult.” Bacoj grinned at her. “My
clan no important. No challenges.”

“I guess we’re safe then,” Lindsey said
weakly. She felt a little unreal. With one sentence, she had as
good as married three alien men. A tie that couldn’t be
undone.

“Now we make love to our Matara?”
Japohn’s whisper was warm against her ear, raising gooseflesh
despite her sudden attack of trepidation. The hands on her body
were becoming more demanding, and her heart rate doubled. Fear,
lust, need — all combined to leave her weak in Japohn’s arms,
completely defenseless against the three men’s
seduction.

Lindsey grabbed the Nobek’s broad
shoulders, pulling him down to kiss her lips. “Come here, you big
lug.”

His tongue plunged into her mouth, and
she moaned at the warm penetration. All her senses fired, clearing
the panic at her sudden clanned status. Japohn’s kiss was
everything she liked, insistent and thorough, leaving no doubt as
to who controlled the action. Lindsey was instantly
pliant.

Other mouths warmed the skin being
quickly exposed as the men stripped her. Their hands were just as
hot, branding her with their touches.

“You must stay quiet tonight,” Bacoj
whispered to her after Japohn released her from the bruising kiss.
“No want father upset.”

“I know,” she whispered back. “He’s not
terribly thrilled about my decision. Not that he doesn’t like you —
it’s just not normal for Earther women to be joined with three men
at a time.”

“We understand,” Vax said. “Aaron good
man. Love Lindsey.”

She smiled. “He is a good
man.”

“We are good men too,” Japohn said.
“Take care our Lindsey.”

“Our Matara.” Bacoj relished the
words.

She felt another stab of worry, but the
clan went back to kissing and caressing her. She let passion drive
her concerns away.

After the tempestuous couplings they’d
enjoyed before, Lindsey was shocked at the gentleness the men
treated her with. Suddenly their touches were whisper-soft,
fluttering against her skin like moths’ wings. The kisses were as
ephemeral as light breezes. She trembled to be handled with such
delicacy. Even Japohn touched her as if she might break apart at
the slightest pressure. His lips on hers were silk, his tongue
sleek and honeyed. His hands, so incredibly massive, cupped her
head like a child’s teacup.

Bacoj sipped daintily at her nipples,
his tongue darting out to tickle at the taut peaks. His fingertips
traced over Lindsey’s abdomen. The feather touch made her muscles
tense with unexpected yearning. Who knew such tenderness could
produce heady cravings like as these?

Vax crouched between her legs, his
fingers tracing the vee-line where her thigh met her mound. Then he
stroked the soft chestnut pubic curls. “Curious what look like no
hair?” he wondered out loud. Then his light petting went to her
slit, which he found wet. Lindsey’s legs fell further apart in
invitation. With a happy sigh the Imdiko mouthed her warmth,
lapping at the steady flow of juices.