Savitar’s room. The air coming
through the open window had been
cool and with only a light blanket on
the bed she had been worried about
getting cold while they slept. After
they made love again and their
bodies cooled, Savitar curled around
her from behind. She had soon
discovered there was no need to
worry. His body temperature was
naturally higher than hers and it
seemed like heat pumped off him in
waves, making a blanket superfluous.
Raven tried to pull away then
blinked in surprise when Savitar
refused to release her. She turned to
look over her shoulder to find him
awake and staring at her with his
glowing golden eyes. “Where are you
going, mate?”
She could feel the satisfaction
surge through him when he said the
word “mate” and held back the urge
to roll her eyes at him. “Hold that
thought, big guy. I just have to make a
quick visit to the bathroom.”
Savitar released her and Raven all
but ran into the connecting bathing
room to take care of her pressing
morning needs. She made quick use
of the facilities and swished her
mouth
with
the
mint-flavored
cleansing liquid Savitar had shown
her the night before. It cleaned her
teeth and mouth better than any
brushing could have done and lasted
for days, but she was so used to
brushing her teeth in the morning that
it seemed odd not using it.
Acutely aware she was naked, she
hurried back into the bedroom and
jumped back on the bed. It bounced
slightly and Savitar chuckled at her
antics.
It
amazed
her
how
comfortable she felt with him, but she
did. It was like she had known him a
lot longer than just a day, which kind
of freaked her out, but when in
Arcadia…
Leaning over him, she placed both
hands on his chest and pushed him
onto his back. She propped her head
on her hands as she draped herself
across him and grinned. “Good
morning, sexy Savy.”
His brows rose at that and he
smiled. “Good rising, my love.”
She cocked her head to the side as
he wrapped his arms around her,
holding her to him. He made that odd
purring sound again. It was a rumble
deep within his chest that she found
both soothing and strangely arousing.
She could feel his joy at being with
her like this, but also his confusion
about something. She tried to
concentrate, but the sound of the
waves was making it difficult to think
beyond the pounding in her head.
“Something is wrong with my
hearing,” she said on a wince.
His brow furrowed with concern
then cleared as he realized what was
happening. “The blood bond has
heightened your senses. Just imagine
turning down the sounds in the
background as if you were turning a
knob.”
Raven focused on doing what he
suggested and, to her relief, it
worked. With the distraction gone
she could now focus on what was
bothering him. “Why are you upset?”
“I am not upset…only confused.”
“About?”
“I woke a few hours ago…”
That surprised her. “Then what are
you doing in bed still?”
Savitar hesitated for a moment. “I
was…watching you dream.”
Her eyes widened. “Seriously?
You could see my dreams?”
“Nay…not see them exactly. It was
more like you were sharing them with
me.”
Wow,
this
could
be
really
awkward.
“Umm…what
was
I
dreaming
about?”
she
asked
cautiously. If she had been dreaming
she couldn’t remember what it was
about.
Savitar smiled. “You dreamed
about me…and your life back in your
old world.”
“Ah…”
His smile disappeared. “But the
moment you woke the connection was
broken.”
“You mean the blood bond thing,
right? So this isn’t normal?”
His brows furrowed in confusion
again. “Nay. Once the blood bond is
formed I should be able to access
your mind at will, just as you do
mine. You knew I was confused
because you can feel me and my
emotions, but I cannot feel you
anymore.”
Raven nibbled at her lip. This was
unexpected. She had actually come to
terms with him being able to access
her head, grudgingly so, but still. “Is
something wrong with me? Did I
mess up the bond thing? You bit me
three times last night and you even
cut yourself the first time and had me
drink from you.”
Raven’s stomach turned as she
recalled that part of the night.
Watching his fingernail turn into a
claw had pretty much shocked the
shit out of her. At first the claw had
freaked her out, but she just had to
remind herself that he wasn’t human.
It made sense now that he had been
trying to create a stronger bond
between them by having her take
more of his blood, but clearly
something was still wrong.
Then again, it was nice to know she
still had her privacy. Unlike Savitar
who was used to sharing thoughts
with his brothers, all of this was new
to her and it made her extremely
nervous to have three men running
around in her head. Her mind was
definitely not a fun place to be at
times, even for her. She wasn’t ready
to let her guard down completely, but
she knew how much this meant to
him.
Shit, how the hell could she be
screwing up this mating thing
already?
Savitar ran a loving hand over her
head, pushing the dark curls away
from her face as he smiled at her.
“You did nothing wrong, mate. The
bond is still there between us. You
just seem to have the ability to close
off your mind. Try opening yourself
up to me and speak to me with your
mind.”
Raven concentrated as she tried to
do what he asked. “Can you hear
me?”
“Aye, my love. I can hear you, but
I still cannot sense your emotions.
Let go of your control more.”
It was a struggle to figure out how
to do it, but it finally worked as she
imagined opening a heavy wooden
door and allowing Savitar to enter.
She could feel the connection
between them strengthen and smiled.
“Can you feel me now?”
“Aye,” he growled. “You want
me.”
“Well, duh. You and your super
cock are pretty spectacular but I
think I may need to eat something
before we go another round.”
He choked back a laugh. “Super
cock?”
She smiled at him, loving the sound
of his laughter because she knew how
rare the sound was. It pleased her
that she really did seem special to
him. She moved her hand to swirl a
finger lightly over his chest. “Well, it
feels pretty super to me.”
“Good,” he growled. “I am glad I
please my mate.”
Her smile dimmed as she thought
about that. There it was, the mating
thing again. Since she had arrived on
their planet, she had gone from
terrified out of her mind to worried
and now…content. Everything was
way too new for that, no matter how
much she enjoyed being with Savitar.
So why the hell did she feel like she
was exactly where she belonged?
Savitar frowned at her. “What is
that look for, mate?”
“I…” She blew out a breath and
went for honesty. “I guess I’m
worried. No, confused is more
accurate. Why does this feel so right?
Being here with you?”
His body relaxed under her and his
glowing
eyes
brightened
with
happiness. “It is the mating bond.
When a trio mates with a female, it
helps ensure that she will have
feelings for all of the brothers and not
just one.”
She wrinkled her nose at that. So
what she was feeling was because
she drank his blood? That was…ick.
Savitar sighed. “We shall get
dressed and go down to dine in the
main hall.”
Raven started to get up then paused
as she felt him holding something
back. “Spill it.”
“What?”
“Spill it. Whatever you are thinking
about that you don’t want to say.”
Savitar sat up in an impressive
display of abdominal muscles since
his arms were still wrapped around
her. He set her carefully on his lap
and she couldn’t help but squirm
against him when she felt his erection
poking at her hip. He growled in
warning. “Keep that up, mate, and we
will not be leaving this room for a
long while.”
She stopped moving and sobered as
she looked at him. “Okay, tell me
whatever you don’t want to tell me.”
He sighed. “Do you remember what
I told you about my connection with
my brothers?”
“Yeah, you said—” She gasped and
couldn’t help but blush. “Shit! So
they know what we did?”
“Aye, they know. Tristan is still
away from the palace on patrol, but
Kadan is in the main hall waiting for
us. He would like the chance to make
amends with you today.”
Raven held back her initial reaction
to deny the request then nodded her
head. She wanted to be fair and
spend some time with Kadan to help
her get over her animosity of what
had happened. “Fine, but would you
mind staying with us for a little while
until I’m more comfortable around
him?”
Savitar laughed. “Mind? My queen,
I would never leave your side if it
were up to me. But my brothers will
need time alone with you to truly
make amends for their behavior. If
you need me you have only to think of
me and I will come find you.”
His promise instantly made her feel
better. They got out of bed and she
watched as Savitar dressed in a pair
of soft black leather pants and a
matching warrior’s vest. She noticed
that the leather shimmered in the light
because the material had been
stitched together using a silver
thread.
“Silver is the color of the House of
Akira. It is law that only we are
allowed to wear shirts of that color
in this city,” Savitar explained. “But
the
warrior’s
vests
are
more
practical for everyday use, so we
have all of the elite guard’s vest
made using thread the color of our
house to signify their status.”
“Cool.”
After that they spent a few minutes
arguing over her clothes. Raven made
it very clear that there was no way in
hell she would be wearing one of
those transparent dresses anytime
soon. Savitar had given in when he
saw how serious she was and led her
into his walk-in closet after she
wrapped the blanket around herself.
She was okay with nudity, but it just
felt strange walking around bare-
assed naked when he was already
dressed.
In the closet he pulled a trunk out
from where it was stacked in the
back to reveal smaller sets of
warrior’s clothing that were more to
her liking. He took out a pair of black
leather pants that looked like they
would fit her and she raised a brow
in question. Clearing his throat, he
looked away to search through the
stored clothing to find her a top that
would fit her. “My mother kept some
of my clothing from when I was a
youngling. When she died I kept them
in hopes that one day I would have
my own.”
Raven’s heart clenched at the sheer
longing in his voice. Because she
wasn’t
actively
holding
the
connection open to him she knew that