Page 16 of Mated By Twilight

“I’m sorry,” she rushed to say.

“It’s fine,” Tillos assured her, fixing a small smile back in place. “You’re from a monogamous species. You don’t know about our mating practices.”

“It’s both of us or neither of us,” Sollit added, his expression still a bit sad. “I mean, there are some females who will pick a favorite from her mates but… it’s considered quite cruel.”

Leah grimaced, shifting nervously in her chair. She was pretty sure she just made things worse in this already bad meeting. “Okay. I won’t pick. I’m sorry.”

“Tillos and I are connected,” Sollit told her, touching his chest. “It’s not inaccurate to describe us as the same person. We share one heart. What I feel, he feels. The bond is such that, to the Coalition, he and Iareconsidered one. Even on our home planet, we are always combined into one. It’s expected that anything that goes to Tillos would also go to me. That’s just how it works.”

“But… you’re not one person,” She frowned, looking between them. “You’re different.”

To her surprise, they both smiled, leaning back in. Just as quickly as she had hurt them before, she pleased them now.

“You think we’re different?” Tillos asked.

“Aren’t you?” Her gaze darted between them. “I mean, you look identical, but you’re just… you’re notperfectlyidentical. You’re not the exact same person.”

Sollit chuckled. “I’m glad you think so,aevea.”

“What’s that mean? Ah…Ay-v…er…”

“Aevea,” Tillos repeated for her, the sound delightfully rumbly in his voice. “It’s from our native tongue. It translates to ‘center’.”

“Center,” she repeated, unsure what to think about that. She thought it was a pet name or endearment, just based on the way they said it. But center wasn’t a very romantic name. Maybe it sounded better in their own tongue with their own connotation. “Oh, okay. Erm… So, what now?”

“We enjoy our night on Holotulle, then we return to our troupe,” Tillos said. “You’ll meet the rest of our troupe then. After that, we live.”

“I think she meant romantically,” Sollit smiled. “In which case, we’ll do whatever you need. Courting is a process on Yeluka Akuley that can last for years before a female softens to the males pursuing her. If you require that of us, we’ll be glad to give it to you.”

That reassurance finally relaxed her. She found her shoulders untensing, her smile softening. And it must have been obvious, because the two males similarly relaxed, the tension in the air clearing. It was a relief, she realized. She had been trained, from birth, to be ready for her wedding night by her religious parents. She was to be kept pure and untouched until the night she gave herself to her husband in holy matrimony. He would tell herwhat he wanted her to do, and she was to do it, whatever it was, because pleasing her husband was her greatest purpose in life.

Of course, she no longer really expected to save herself until marriage, but it was already hard enough to have an alien mate. To go from a virgin without a boyfriend one day to then having two male aliens both claiming they’d have her together as her introduction to sex the next was just too much. She’d heard that some aliens really did sleep together immediately upon meeting each other, and part of her had been genuinely afraid that’s what would be expected from her in this relationship.

And she didn’t know if she’d be strong enough to tell them that she wasn’t ready for it.

“Really?” She asked, needing the reassurance. They didn’t seem like they’d demand more from her, but she’d always been told that’s all men would want from her.

“Of course,” Tillos said simply. “You have your own hotel room and everything.”

Leah beamed. “Thank you for understanding.”

“Never hesitate to tell us if you feel uncomfortable,” Sollit told her. “Let’s be friends first, hm?”

“Yeah,” she nodded eagerly as a floating tray brought their food. Now that the main issue was, mostly, settled, she was able to focus on the meal. And the alien food – whatever it was – tasted pretty good. The future of her alien life seemed pretty promising.

Chapter 7

Sollit

Stepping away from the table, Sollit brought Leah to the fountain. He showed her the pretty statues holding up the tiers between the shooting jets of water. It was a distraction, allowing Tillos to surreptitiously book a new hotel room for them tonight and a second room on their transport ship tomorrow. They wanted to still be close to her, because they were courting her as their mate, but she had clearly established her discomfort so they had to change their tactics immediately.

Leah Williams was not what he expected. He wasn’t sure what to call her. The domini guide that brought her here called her by her second name, so he was going to call her that, oraevea, until she told him otherwise. He honestly didn’t even know what her names meant – which was her given name, if they were both her given name, if one or both was inherited. So, it was Miss Williams – miss appeared to be an honorific – until he was given further direction.

But aside from his confusion as to her name, everything else was a surprise. First, how absolutely adorable she was. Her body was sinfully curved and lush, and he wanted nothing more than to grab her and squeeze tight. He longed to bury his face in her breasts, to grab her ass with both hands, to just cuddle her close and never let her go.

But as salacious as her body appeared, unable to be fully covered by her baggy, largely shapeless clothes, her attitude was rather reserved. She kept her hands close, she held herself like she was trying to make herself small, and her hair kept falling into her face. When she was confronted with the idea of having two mates, she panicked so hard she almost ran away. She apologized for every minor thing, and even her gasps of awe were quiet and understated.

It was concerning, honestly. She looked like she expected to be yelled at or hit at any moment. He didn’t mind giving her reassurance, endlessly if she needed it, but the fact that she looked so uncomfortable, bordering on afraid, made him want to question her as to why.

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