Page 60 of Bound

Merrik stroked her hair, drawing her attention to him. “He’s right. This was more than I ever imagined, and I’ve imagined this forever.”

She smiled at him too. “I never dreamed I would have two mates, but I have no complaints about either of you.”

“Liar,” Tov challenged. “You have plenty of complaints, but we intend to fix that. Now that we are bonded, many of the pressures are removed. We can focus on constructing a life that fulfils all three of us.”

She crawled off Merrik, moaning as his cock slipped free. “You can start by explaining why this had to be done so suddenly.” She turned around and looked at Tov. “Who are we rescuing and how are we going to accomplish it?”

“You know all you need to know for now,” Tov said firmly. “This is our bonding night and we are going to remain focused on each other.”

Cara harrumphed, allowing her lips to form a mostly playful pout. “I will lay awake all night trying to figure it out. You might as well just tell me.”

“He said no,” Merrik reinforced. “Keep it up and your ass cheeks will be nice and red while we enjoy a nice long shower.”

A shower sounded wonderful and the spanking would likely come later. She had no doubt the night’s activities had just begun. “Fine, make me wait. You guys are good at that.” She pivoted on the ball of her foot and headed for the bathroom.

Her mates followed half a step behind.

* * *

Dressed and ready for the day, Cara walked out into the main living area of Tov’s cabin the following morning and found Flora sitting at the table with Tov and Merrik. “This is… unexpected.”

Flora smiled. “I guess that’s better than unwanted.”

“At the risk of sounding rude, what are you doing here?” Cara slipped onto the remaining chair and picked up one of the sandwich-like items stacked on a tray in the middle of the table. She had eaten them before and found them palatable. Altorian bread was more like a pita and she had no idea if the slightly chunky filling contained animal, vegetable, or minerals. She was simply too hungry to care.

“I began my training as part of a power triad,” Flora said casually. “Your power was unleashed but you didn’t have access to your source. Do you understand the difference now?”

Cara shivered. Suddenly having access to Merrik’s energy had just about gotten him killed. “I almost lost control when the conduit activated for the first time.”

“If it happened while they were claiming you, it’s completely understandable. Nadis said you are a quick learner and mastered the skills even faster than I did. Now you simply need to put it all together.”

“We’re on a spaceship,” Cara pointed out. “How do I practice without burning a hole in the hull?”

“One of our cargo bays has been converted into a temporary training facility,” Merrik told her.

“It’s time for that long-awaited explanation.” Tov filled a mug withwessinand slid it across the table toward Cara. “Pertinent fact number one, Cylex is a Torretian spy.”

“Our bodyguard?” She glanced at Flora, struggling to keep the accusation out of her tone. “Didn’t Draven assign him to us? How could he have been so wrong?”

“He wasn’t. It was a test. Draven wanted to see if Cylex would pass on the information he learned while guarding you and Raina. He didn’t, at least not anything important. And Cylex confessed before he had any idea that Draven knew.”

Unsure how she felt about that, Cara turned back to Tov. “What does this have to do with our rescue mission?”

“Jevara gave Cylex three days to bring him one of the newly rescued conduits. If he fails to do so, Jevara will murder Cylex’s sister. Anias is being held in the palace to prove to Cylex that Jevara means business.”

“Lovely.” She shuddered. Anyone who would threaten an innocent was reprehensible. “Can we rid the universe of this bastard while we’re there? The more I learn about Jevara, the more convinced I am that death is the only solution.”

She’d been looking at Tov, but Merrik responded. “Our mission objective is rescuing the hostages, but we’re not ruling anything out.”

“You said hostages. Who is the other one?”

“One of Jevara’s pleasure givers is a rebel spy,” Tov explained. “If Jevara realizes why she is really there, he will slit her throat without hesitation. Laidon is so worried about her that he went to Zevon for assistance.”

Zevon ran the Citadel, but she couldn’t place the other name. “Who is Laidon?”

“Leader of the Torretian rebels,” Merrik informed.

“Yeah, I guess that was self-evident.”

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