Page 42 of Viken Command

Before I could tell her that I did, I really, really did, she turned and fled.

Damn her!

Why was I petrified to be left alone with three sexy alien hotties? Why did I want her to stay here and hold my hand forever and ever? I was not the brave, fierce woman I’d been when I sat in the testing chair with Warden Egara back on Earth. I’d been daring that day. Fearless. Determined to put my past behind me and start over.

Now? Now, I was being an idiot.

A lovesick idiot.

Kayson, Geros and Mal took their seats once again. I couldn’t look at them. Not because I was truly afraid, as if they’d harm me physically. I was afraid to get to know them, to like them. To want them. Because I didn’t want them. I wanted someone else—three someone elses—and I had no doubt that desire was written all over my face. More like neon lights blinking on a damn billboard.

“You love them, don’t you?” Kayson asked. “Your three previous mates.”

Oh shit, maybe the sign was brighter even than a billboard.

I looked up into his eyes, saw they were kind. Thoughtful. Worried.

I burst into tears. Gentle hands lifted me, settled me on a lap. Arms wrapped around me, pressing my head against a warm, comforting chest. I felt the steady beat of a heart, the calm rise and fall of breathing. The clean scent of strong male.

And that’s all. I accepted his comfort, but I did not melt into his embrace. I did not inhale his scent as if it were the very oxygen I needed to survive another moment. He felt like a friend, nothing more. But right now, I needed a friend, one who wasn’t happily mated to three hot alien kings. One who was as lonely and miserable as I was. Someone who understood—maybe a little—what I was going through.

They said things to me, three different voices speaking, but I didn’t know what they uttered. It was the tone, the soft cadence, that lulled me. I wasn’t afraid. I was comforted. Sheltered. Protected, although the danger I faced originated from within, from my own heart.

Finally, the tears lessened, then stopped. I eventually cried myself out, although I had no idea how long it had taken.

“I’m sorry,” I said, wiping my face.

Geros held out a glass of water, and I took a sip, thanking him as the cool drink soothed my scratchy throat.

“I am impressed by you, Whitney from Earth,” Kayson said. I looked up, realized it was his lap I was upon. God, he was so attractive, so… perfect. For someone else.

“Because I cried all over your uniform?” I felt my cheeks heat at how I’d behaved.

He tipped my chin up so I couldn’t look away. “For giving your heart to your mates so quickly, so openly. Trust can only be given if someone possesses two traits, the courage to take a chance on knowing someone might hurt you, and the confidence to know you’re strong enough to survive if they do.”

I snorted at that. I didn’t feel particularly courageous or strong at the moment. “I trusted my mates. I ignored my instincts and trusted all three of them. And look where that got me.”

“Tell us what happened.” Geros gently took the drink from my hand. “Tell us everything.”

My eyes widened, and I looked between the three of them. “You want to know about my relationship problems with other men?”

“We want you to be happy,” Mal replied. “Tell us and allow us to assist you. We already know you are not ours. The testing may have matched you to Kayson, but your heart belongs to the others.”

He was right, and I had to look away. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Kayson said. “We long for a mate who possesses the same passion and devotion you exhibit. Perhaps, we will now request a female from Earth.”

“I don’t understand. I rejected them and now belong to you. At least according to the Interstellar Brides Program.”

Kayson slowly shook his head. “We want your heart, Whitney. The testing match may have forced us together, but unless your heart is free to love us, our match will not make you happy.”

“I’m—”

“Do not say the word again,” Geros added. “You have no reason to be sorry. Tell us what happened.”

These three were good guys. Really good guys. They looked at me with earnestness, with a focus that told me I was the center of their world in this moment. And so, I told them. All of it. Not all of it, but I had a feeling they could fill in the blanks—the very naughty, sexy, hot, sweaty, make-me-beg-for-more blanks.

“So, your mates work for the I.C.”

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