Casey's Warriors (Bondmates) (40 page)

“Greetings, Matriarch of House Westfall. Forgive my intrusion but I have a boon to beg of you.”

Lorn was seriously pissed but he didn’t say anything. Nast stood directly behind her and she was reminded once again how much smaller than her men she was as the man kneeling before her looked up again. She gave Lorn a questioning glance but he’d shut his bond down tight.

“Please call me Cas-er-Matriarch Westfall. Um, rise Warrior. What’s your name?”

“My name is Cormac, Matriarch, I met you briefly back on Earth. I picked Lorn up from your home.”

“Oh!” She smiled at him and gave him a quick hug, moving back when he stiffened against her. “So nice to see you again.”

He shot Lorn a worried look but her husband sighed. “She likes to hug people she knows.”

“What do you want?” Nast said in a low, growling voice thick with warning.

Cormac took a deep breath then let it out slowly. “Matriarch Westfall…”

“Please, call me Casey.”

He licked his lips in a nervous gesture, then nodded. “Casey, I have an enormous boon to ask of you.”

“What is it?”

Going to his knees again he looked up at her with such a beseeching expression that she felt sorry for him. “I am begging you to please return to Earth, just for a short time.”

Startled, she jumped when Nast wrapped his arms around her and held her tight to his body. “No.”

She elbowed him in the ribs but he ignored her until she sent a blast of her disapproval through their bond then he flinched. “Ouch. That hurt.”

“Don’t answer for me,” she frowned up at him. “We need to at least hear him out.”

“No we do not,” Lorn muttered but she ignored him.

“Why do you need me to go back?”

“The Lord of Life had blessed your home region with a great many women who have the potential to be brides. Your disappearance has made it very, very hard to court them. They fear Lorn has kidnapped you, or killed you, and view any men associated with Lorn with great suspicion. It is very frustrating to see your bondmate standing before you, but being unable to court her because she thinks our men killed Casey.”

“What?” Casey yelled and kicked back at Nast as he tried to hold her again.

“Forgive me for angering you, Matriarch, but our men are getting desperate and that desperation is pushing those struggling with their inner beast closer to losing themselves to the madness. I beg you to come back just for a few days, long enough to give some kind of excuse for your disappearance and soothe the females. Without a doubt I will suffer your husbands’ wrath for this, but it is worth it if I can have a chance to get a kiss.”

The thought of seeing her family again elated her but on the heels of her joy came her men’s pain. Absently, she wondered who Cormac believed his bondmate was. She looked up at Lorn and studied him, trying to figure out why the thought of her going back to Earth made him…scared. Examining Nast’s emotions she felt the same thing and it dawned on her that they worried she would leave them.

“Can I have a moment alone with my husbands, please?” Cormac looked at her breast, then up at Nast with a puzzled look. “No, he’s not my husband yet but he will be as soon as we can find a High Priestess to bond us.”

“Of course, Matriarch.”

He quickly left the room and she tried to wiggle out of Nast’s grip but he refused to let her go. “Oh would you two relax? Nothing, and I mean nothing, could take me away from you. Okay?”

“What if your family disapproves of us,” Lorn asked in a low voice, his expression and mental touch so filled with despair that she wanted to choke him. “What if you find the thought of leaving them again too painful and want to stay on Earth?”

“Nothing. Not my family, not my friends, not even God or the Lord of Life could take me from you or you from me. You are my world, my loves, my joy and my soul. Both of you. I could no more leave you than I could cut my heart from chest.”

Nast loosened his hold and she reached out to Lorn, drawing them both to her until she was buried between two mountains of male muscle. “What if they try to take you from us?”

“Then you don’t let them, but it won’t come to that. You can have me beamed up right?”

“Beamed up?” Nast asked as he leaned down then lifted her so she was held between them.

“You know, whatever that thing is they did to bring Lorn and I to the ship.”

Lorn’s low laugh vibrated against her back and his relief eased the strain on her heart. “Fast track. Yes, we could fast track you from anywhere in your world.”

“See? No big deal. We go back to Earth, I let everyone know that I’m okay, tell them we ran off to Vegas to get married or whatever, everyone will calm down, and your men can court their brides. Hell, I’ll even help your men seduce my friends, and not just because I’d like to have them here with me, because there is nothing better than being loved by a Kadothian man; if they are meant to be with one of your men then I have to help make that happen. The Lord of Life doesn’t make bad matches, right?”

Lorn rubbed his cheek against her head. “Forgive us for doubting you, Casey.”

Nast gave her a gentle kiss before exchanging another kiss with Lorn. “I will miss you.”

She grabbed Nast’s chin and forced him to look at her. “You’re coming with us.”

“But your people will shun you if you have more than one husband. I do not want you shamed.”

“I don’t give a fuck what they think. If they can’t accept our love that’s their problem.”

“What about your family?” Lorn asked in a soft voice. “I do not want you to fight with them.”

Apprehension filled her but she brushed it off. “They’ll have to deal with it too. My sister will be jealous as hell, my brother might want to kick your asses, but my parents will see how good it is between us. Please, Lorn, I want to be able to say goodbye to my family. Please let me go home so I can give them closure. I don’t want them to suffer for the rest of their lives, thinking something terrible happened to me.”

“How will you explain your absence?”

“I’ll think of something.” She leaned against Lorn and absently stroked Nast’s chest, liking being held between them like this. “Can we give them like a coded message or something that will activate when the wormhole closes? A device that will let them know I’m all right?”

The men exchanged a glance and Nast nodded. “A communication crystal could be left with them. Perhaps something that could be worn as a piece of jewelry by your mother.”

She let out a sigh of relief, her heart filled with love for her men. “Thank you. I also had another idea I’ve been thinking about. Something that might help other brides.”

“What is it?” Lorn asked in a soft voice that sent desire through her and she realized both men were starting to feel frisky.

Rolling her eyes she shook her head. “Hear me out first, okay? You were right about it being silly to think having more than one person to love is evil, and I agree it is totally stupid, but most Earth women won’t. While I don’t approve of your mother’s teaching methods, she was effective in showing me why bonding more than one male isn’t only necessary, but the right thing to do.”

Nast began to stroke her right buttock while Lorn stroked her left, distracting her. “Stop that or I’ll make you get dressed and sit across the room from me so you’ll listen.”

They gave her disgruntled looks that almost made them appear childish and she shook her head. “Anyway, I was thinking, you know how Jaz is part of a welcoming committee? Maybe I could run a class with a few of the other Earth women who have bonded more than one man on why it’s not only necessary, but also why it’s not wrong. Yeah, we could bring your mom in to zap everyone’s man, but that may hurt more couples than it helps. Not every woman will understand, and some women will flat out refuse no matter what I say, but at least I can try to get through to them. Because everyone deserves a chance to have the kind of love we have. It is the most amazing thing I’ve ever felt and I want to do all I can to help your men find their bondmates.”

Their happiness and pride surrounded her, leaving her in a pleased little puddle of joy on their chests as she melted beneath their combined adoration.

Lorn brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them as he spoke, “This is the way it is supposed to be, Casey. To share our love with each other. The Lord of Life did not create us with a limited amount, he gave us as much love as he has, enough for the whole universe.”

“Now,” Nast said in a rumbling purr, “let us show you how much we love you.”

“Wait,” she said as she tried to fight off the growing need to have them inside of her. “Cormac.”

Lorn stepped away and Nast continued to hold her while placing hungry kisses along her neck that made her shiver. A second later Lorn opened the door and said, “We’ll be ready to leave in two hours.”

“Three,” Nast said in a low voice before returning to tormenting her with pleasure that stole her mind and her heart.

“Make it four,” Lorn growled before he shut the door and returned to their side where he belonged.

Chapter Nineteen

Casey took a deep breath and let out slowly, the hum of the busy fast track port on the Reaping ship washing over her. Just hours ago, she’d bonded Nast fully and she was still adjusting to the sensation of having him fully merged with her soul and Lorn’s. Her beautiful new bonding cloak, this one made of a shimmering turquoise green lizard skin, was safely stored in their room on the ship, and her body still hummed with the hard loving Nast had given her while Lorn watched. In a perfect world, she’d still be in bed with her men, drowning in their love, but they needed to get to Earth ASAP.

Her heart raced as she thought about the news articles Cormac had shown her, pleas from her parents all over the local papers and the Internet for anyone with information on Casey’s whereabouts, or Lorn’s, to come forward. The image of her family holding a candlelight vigil still haunted her, and she had to battle her impatience to return to home so she could put her friends and family out of their misery. Her friends had all been claimed by different Kadothian Warriors but so far, none had managed to secure a kiss. No wonder, considering her friends were pretty sure Lorn had kidnapped her.

The group of Kadothian men ahead of them dissolved before her eyes as they were fast tracked to Earth and Lorn looked down at her with a smile. “Ready?”

He’d put on his Earth disguise again, though she persuaded him to color his hair a more traditional dark blond rather than the almost pure white he sported the first time she met him. Dressed in a pair of worn jeans and a tight, dark grey t-shirt he was still the hottest man she’d ever seen. Then she looked over at Nast and had to amend that thought as she took in his more rugged good looks. This would be his first trip to Earth, and despite the dire nature of their journey, she was still excited to show him her planet. Like Lorn, Nast wore a pair of jeans that clung to his thick, muscled legs and did wonderful things for his rounded ass. He’d gone for a light brown hair color and had pulled his hair back in a low-slung ponytail while Lorn had braided his.

Either way, they were both beyond delicious and she wanted to eat them alive.

“Casey,” Lorn said in a teasing tone. “While your desire for us is more than welcome, we would rather not meet your family without our cocks hard.”

“Oh, shit.” She flushed and glanced down at her own outfit of jeans and a t-shirt, wishing she could see the new bondmark swirling over the center of her chest and dipping between her cleavage in a tendril of delicate scrolls. “Sorry about that.”

Nast laughed and swept her up into his arms, placing a sound kiss on her lips. “Have I told you how much I love you, wife?”

She kissed him back, then leaned away and grinned. “You might have a time or two.”

“Casey!” They looked over to find Jaz and her husbands making their way through the crowd to them.

“Hey, Jaz.” Nast put her down so she could approach the other woman. “We’re about to head back to Earth, what’s up?”

The other woman gave her a brief hug and smiled. “Congratulations on bonding your second husband. Cormac told me you were going to say goodbye to your parents. Your husbands had these made for you.”

She handed Casey a small green box. Giving the other woman a curious look, Casey opened it and found a lovely, huge solitaire diamond ring and three gold wedding bands. There was also a pretty crystal charm on a gold chain. She recognized right away what the rings were for, but didn’t know the significance of the necklace. “Wedding rings! Thank you so much for thinking of that, but what’s the necklace?”

“Your husbands had this made for your mother. When the Reaping ship departs it will send a beacon back to earth and it will emit a high-pitched ringing noise. Once someone touches it a recording will play of your bonding ceremony to Lorn and Nast, then it will give an explanation of where you went, all in this super awesome 3D holograph thing.” She smiled and gave Casey another hug. “Thank you for thinking of this. The other brides are having some made for their families as well, that is, those that have families to worry about, and we hope this will help them accept our disappearances.”

The Warrior running the transport said in a loud voice, “Captain Lorn Westfall, we have your coordinates ready.”

The long line of people waiting to return to Earth stretched out behind them and Casey flushed, quickly slipping on her rings then handing the men theirs. “Put it on the third finger of your left hand. On Earth it means you’re married.”

Jaz blew them a kiss and moved off the platform. “Good luck!”

“Thanks,” Casey replied in a faint voice, her earlier apprehension about being dissolved at a molecular level then put back together returning again.

“Eyes closed,” Lorn whispered.

“Ri…” Before she could finish the word a weird tingle went through her and she had a disconcerting moment of everything going black, then a twist in her stomach and she stumbled back as the scents of coffee, breakfast, men, and fresh cut grass filled her nose.