Page 39 of The Ozar Triad

She’d seen enough of men who became possessive pieces of controlling shit with marriage, or after a child was born. They slowly chipped away at confidence, independence, and ability to make a decision until the person they were supposed to care for the most was a shell of their former selves.

Yeah. That was so not going to happen.

“I’m one hundred percent in line with that.” She took a deep breath, relegating her mental turmoil to another past of her brain. “Now. Which way do we go?”

They stood in the middle of the tunnel, each side stretching into inky blackness. It was only the blue light from the numbing device that allowed her to see anything at all.

Rujali took her hand, almost as though he didn’t trust her not to disappear. Not that he was far from the mark. Not far at all.

“This way,” he said.

Her men surrounded her. Klaej took the lead, and Rujali and Setzan strode next to her. They moved with a stealth told of experienced training. Setzan held a rifle-type weapon. Rujali was content with the blue-flamed blade that cut through anything like butter, and Klaej held the numbing device in one hand and a lethal dagger in the other. Damned if they weren’t all as sexy as hell, with their bare chests, inked flesh, and ridges of hard muscle that undulated with each step.

She was surprised to find she was getting horny again despite that fact she’d just orgasmed and this so wasn’t the place. She tried to stifle a shudder. As though sensing what she was feeling, Setzan sent her a side-glance and smirked.

Normally a look like that would have her back up, but coming from his handsome face it merely amused her. He was too damned good-looking for his own good. Rujali was more rugged, with his golden beads and thick swirling tatts, and Klaej was as calming as a walk in a forest glen.

That she felt as intensely and as differently for each of them was beyond her reasoning. She should feel like an absolute slut. Women were labelled as such for leading two men, let alone the fact men did it all the time to women. Underhanded bastards. What hypocrisy. She knew personally what being used like that felt like, yet to them it was virile.

It was a vast difference to how Rujali, Setzan and Klaej treated her, though. Instead of feeling used, she wasvalued. There was companionship, concurrence, sharing and unity between her men. They were nothing like the men of Earth. Not the ones she’d come across, anyway.

Her world shifted again. She was constantly trying to find steady ground, but it seemed as though it hadn’t settled yet. Each second brought with it a new perspective. She’d never thought so long or so hard about anything in her life.

She must truly be losing her mind. Her life had been simple. Follow orders. Fight bad guys. She was a simple soldier and that was fine by her.

Everything had become so complicated lately, she yearned for that easiness again. Why did it have to change for her at all? She’d been happy—relatively anyway. That had all altered in a moment she had no control over. It wasn’t fair. If anyone had stopped to ask what she wanted, she would not have chosen any of this.

But then again, she wouldn’t be surrounded by gorgeous men whose sole purpose was to give her orgasms. She wouldn’t have known what it felt like to be so… cherished. And her heart would have remained behind its little glass cage she’d put her heart in. Safe. Secure.

Unfulfilled.

Shut it, mind. Bring your head back in the game.

If one of those worms came at them again, they’d have a hell of a fight on their hands.

They passed a tunnel leading off to the right.

Setzan stopped and dug around in his pocket. Riley came to a halt between Klaej and Rujali. She stared at the glowing chip in Setzan’s palm. It had an otherworldly eerie glow to it, so blue it was almost white and shone brighter than any torch she’d seen even though it was no more than the size of a fingernail.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“It’s a chip from the Ozar tower,” Setzan said.

“It means that the crystal is very close. Look how bright it glows,” Rujali said.

“It will only glow so bright if the crystal is near. Like it did at the spaceport,” Klaej said.

“A crystal. About this big?” she asked, measuring with her hands. “This wide?”

Rujali’s dark gaze settled on her. “How did you know that?”

She shifted. “Back at the airport, when those Reptiles first brought me here. They had a crystal that glowed as bright as that chip. It was extremely hot.”

She knew from personal experience when they’d pressed it against her skin and she’d almost lost consciousness.

“The Ozar Crystal. We have to get it,” Klaej said.

“But, our mate is here. We must get her to safety,” Setzan said.

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