“That’s probably because weKindredhave a biological need to taste our mates,”Severinexplained.“Itbrings us closer together and feeds the craving we have to give our women oral pleasure.”
“Wow—you actuallycraveit?”Cassiecould hardly believe he was telling the truth.Herfirst husband,Mitch, absolutely refused to go “down there” as he put it.Andas forSskarth, well he’d tried it several times when they were first married but his long, thin, forked tongue didn’t feel very pleasant at all.Itwas like being licked by a damp strand of spaghetti and after a few tries,Cassiehad excused him from this particular “marital duty.”
“Wedocrave it.”Severin’spale blue eyes had gone half-lidded behind his glasses now.“Verymuch,” he added in a low voice.
Cassie was getting that feeling of being surrounded again and it made her nervous.Especiallysince both of the bigKindredon either side of her were leaning in towards her.
This close to them she could pick up their individual scents.She’dalready smelledRavik’s—his personal scent was like leather and smoke and dark spice.Butnow she could smellSeverinas well—he had a clean, sharp smell like the ocean and the icy wind on a winter’s day.Bothof them smelled amazing and somehow when their scents mixed together, it was even better.
Like the best men’s cologne in the world,she thought.Thekind that costs a thousand dollars an ounce.
Not that she would ever have bought such a thing, but there was no denying their scents drew her in a strange way she hadn’t experienced before.Theymade her feel things…things she’d thought were behind her.
For instance, why were her nipples so tight and sensitive?Andwhy did she suddenly feel wet and hot between her legs when she’d been dry as a bone withSskarthfor the past year at least?Werethe mingled scents of the twoKindreddoing something to her?
No, surely not.Cassiepushed the idea out of her head.Itwas probably just another hot flash coming on or something else to do with perimenopause.
“Well,” she said, rising from the table and beginning to clear the dishes.“Letme get these taken care of and then we can all get some rest.Er…where are we going to sleep, though?”she added, looking atSeverin.
“Please—you cooked.Ican do the dishes,” theBloodKindredsaid, rising as well.“Andas for sleeping arrangements?—”
“Mate will sleep with me—in my arms,”Ravikinterrupted, frowning.
“Is that…Imean, are we really doing that?”Cassieasked anxiously, still looking atSeverin.“Imean, what if he, you know, tries something?”she added in a much lower voice.
TheBloodKindredlooked conflicted.
“I’m sorry butIdon’t know ifIcan dissuade him from wanting to sleep with you in his arms,” he said, also speaking in a lower voice.“ThebestIcan do is to stay in the same room with you.”
Cassie frowned.
“Is there a room in the bunker that’s big enough for the three of us?”
“There is, actually.Ibelieve it was meant as a group mating chamber but it should work for the three of us.”
“A group mating chamber?”Cassiegave him and incredulous look.“Seriously?”
Severin shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling.
“Afraid so.Er…we’ll have to share the bed, unfortunately, since there’s only one in the room,” he added.“Ofcourse, if you’d rather not,Ican go into a separate room.Oryou can lock yourself away, butI’mafraid that might makeRavik, er, agitated.”
He cast a glance at the bigBeastKindredwho was staring lovingly atCassie, as though he intended to devote his entire life to her.
Or maybe he’s just thinking of pinning you down and ravishing you the first chance he gets,whispered a little voice in her head.
Strangely, the thought didn’t horrify her the way it should have.Infact, it sent a little tingle through her entire body.Whatwould it be like to be with such a huge male?Sskarthhad been barely an inch taller than her andMitchhad been only a bit taller than that.Neitherof them was built like a lineman whichRavikandSeverindefinitely were.Shehad always admired theKindredwarriors when she worked aboard theMotherShip, but she’d never actually gotten to “try one out.”
Part of that was because she was almost immediately swept off her feet bySskarthbut the other part was thatKindredwarriors didn’t do casual hookups.Theyused pairing puppets—animatronic and anatomically correct female robots to meet their physical needs until they found the woman they wanted toBondwith for life.
Of course,Severinwasn’t suggesting that the three of them getBonded—Cassiedidn’t even think it was possible to beBondedto twoKindredwarriors at once unless they wereTwinKindred.Hewas only saying they should sleep all together so he could keep an eye onRavik, in case the bigBeastKindredgot “frisky” in the middle of the night.
But looking at his hopeful face, she realized there was another reason the bigBloodKindredwanted her to sleep in his friend’s arms.
“You think that me sleeping with him—er, sleepingbesidehim, will help him, don’t you?”she asked.
Severin nodded.
“I do.Yourscent seems to regenerate his mind—to push the virus back somehow.Idon’t know why—Iwon’t untilIcan get more samples and do some tests.Butfor now, if he could just keep breathing your scent…”
