Page 32 of Tara's Warriors

Karwin picked her up, plastering her to his slick, gorgeous muscles as he stared into her eyes. “That is not all. I’m feeling something different from you.”

“Insecurity,” Phin said suddenly from behind her. “We have made you doubt yourself. Forgive us,alyah.”

Feeling like a ninny, she blurted, “Oh, for the good Lord’s sake, you guys did nothing wrong. I’m just feeling a little shy, okay? I mean, it’s bright in here, and you guys are so perfect. Just absolutely breathtaking. And…”

“And?” Karwin whispered, using that purring voice that always melted her from the inside out.

“And I’m not. I’ve given birth. I’m old by Earth standards. I know, forty-four to you is practically an infant, but I’m not the same as I used to be. I mean, in my mind, I still have the body of a twenty-year-old, but reality is different. You may be unpleasantly surprised about what I look like beneath my clothes.”

“Oh,alyah,” Phin breathed from behind her. He brushed aside her hair so he could lightly kiss her ear. “You couldn’t be more wrong about how desirable we find you and how beautiful you are. But you’re right. This is not the place for our first time claiming of our bride.”

They both walked over to a gold circle on the floor and raised their arms. A second later, some huge blast of air hit them, leaving them almost instantly dry. Even Karwin’s colorful hair was fully dry and smooth like silk. The colors almost looked like ribbons against the darkness of the rest of his hair, and she couldn’t resist running her fingers through it once they returned to her side.

“It’s so pretty,” she murmured.

“I’m pleased you think so, my bride,” Karwin tilted his head. “We have something to show you.”

Curious, she trailed after a very naked Karwin and Phin, admiring their butts the whole way.

She was so distracted by them, she almost walked into their backs before she realized they’d stopped at a closed door.

“While most of our quarters are designed to human standards, this room is not.” Karwin stroked her arm, his pleasure at touching her rolling through their growing soul bond. “It is a representation of our bedroom back on Kadothia. The environment will look and feel very real, but only the bedroom itself actually exists. The rest is an advance holograph and virtual reality system.”

“Sounds interesting.”

Anxiety seeped from the men, making her reach out and stroke their chests in reassurance. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Phin’s thick as a barrel chest rose beneath her touch. “We are showing you the Territory we acquired for you for the first time. We are hoping that you like it, because we are very fond of our home and its people. If it is displeases you, we will relocate to an area of Territory you find more suitable for your needs. We hope this does not happen and you will wish to stay in the Territory we won for you.”

“Then show it to me!” She gave them each a little push and a chiding smile.

The first thing her mind registered was the incredible pink, peach, and gold clouds against a midnight blue sky with hints of purple.

The next was at least a dozen moons of various sizes and colors hanging in the cobalt sky

A soft, roaring sound caught her ear, and she turned slowly to see a massive waterfall tumbling down a black rock cliff the distance.

Looking down, she found a balcony on the far side of the room and slowly made her way over to it. The floor was some incredibly soft silvery white sand that somehow didn’t stick to her feet, but there were no walls. Or, if there were walls, she couldn’t see them. The closer she got to the balcony, the more sense everything made until she gasped.

“We’re on top of a giant golden tree?”

“Yes,” Karwin smiled in relief at her obvious delight. “Though the tree turns gold only once a year, during what you humans might consider spring.”

“Wow.” She took a deep breath. Unfamiliar and strange scents tinted the air. “This is just—wow. So, all the houses are in the treetops?”

“No,” Phin said as he joined her at the railing, naked and completely unashamed of his growing erection pressed against her back. “Most of our people live within the lower branches of the trees. Here…it will be easier to explain if it were full dark.”

A second later, the sunset faded, and a billion stars began to sparkle in the sky above them, stunning her with its beauty.

“I have never, ever seen a sky with that many stars or moons. It’s stunning. Just stunning.”

Karwin joined them, sliding one arm around her waist and one around Phin’s. “Look across the way, there. Do you see those lights, and the ones down there? Those are where our people live.”

From a distance, they looked like little glowing golden fairy lights in the darkness, which extended from her tree all the way to the monstrous waterfall.

A few lights even sparkled from the top of the falls.

“Our people…” A new weight settled onto her shoulders. “What are they like?”

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