Celestial Beauty (16 page)

Raz had been right. The Jorvals hadn’t stood a chance
against her men. Her arousal felt utterly wrong in the midst of the chaos, but
her mind kept wandering, dreaming about throwing either one or both of them on
the floor and fucking them senseless. Having sex and belonging to a set of
quads awakened a raging libido she never thought possible.

“
We’re almost there.” Loc stared down at her. “Are you
all right?”

She nodded eagerly, not trusting her voice. He smiled,
offering his hand. Once placed in his hand he tugged her tightly against him,
bending to whisper, “I can scent your arousal, beauty. Soon.”
 
He promised, and she swallowed, hard. “Once
the dust settles, we’ll take care of you.”

He lifted her in his arms as he stepped over several
unconscious or dead bodies of the Jorval soldiers.

“
Main engine room just ahead.” Zeb looked at them with
a smile. Her face flushed almost to their own skin colour. If Loc could smell
her then so could Zeb. She sighed and figured there was no point in fighting or
denying the fact. She loved and wanted them.

****

“
I can’t carry all this shit,” Kue grumbled, aiming a
glare at Raz, whose hands were still free, standing over another Jorval body.
He shifted the stack of weapons he’d taken from them.

“
Just shove them somewhere,” Raz said absently,
breathing a little hard. They’d just ploughed through at least thirty Jorvals.
Raz favoured his right arm, after sustaining a minor plasma burn in a
fire-fight after they’d broken through from the airlock.

“
We need to find a new business to get into. Junking
isn’t paying us as much as it should, and we’re too fucking old for taking on
missions like this.” Raz stepped over the body, peering around the corner,
holding up a hand to signal it was clear.

“
Now is not the time to be thinking about this. We’ve
got other shit to deal with.” Kue tossed the weapons into a nearby storage
locker, slamming it shut.

“
Oh, you’re just sore because I won the bet.”

“
Only by a fucking hand.” Kue examined the bodies to
see who was still alive, before dragging them into a separate locker.

“
Don’t you want to be able to provide properly for our
Celeste?” Raz continued.

Kue bit back his groan, sealing each locker shut with
his code scrambler. “Can we please focus one thing at a time? Like getting to
the bridge and helping the others take over this fucked up ship.”

He hurried after Raz, who vanished around the corner.
“I’m just saying we should give it some thought, after we get back to Galafrax,
that is. I mean there will be a lot wealthier and younger quads who will want
to court her.”

“
We’ve just spent a week getting to know our Celeste.
Do you think she’s the kind of female who cares about wealth, or what we can
materially give her?”

Raz paused turning back as Kue glared at him. “No, of
course not, but they don’t know that.”

“
Then we’ll just have to do everything in our power to
let them know she is ours.”

Raz’s smile again turned into one of mischievous
intent. “Like making her swollen with our young. She could already be. Is it
easy or hard to impregnate human females? No matter, I’m with her next so I’ll
make sure it’s my seed which is most dominant inside her.”

Kue continued to glare at Raz as he rambled on,
wondering how this idiot could even be related to him.

“
If any seed would take root first it would be Zeb’s,
you know that, right?”

“
Tell yourself that if it makes you happy, but I’m not
going to stop trying.”

Kue snorted. Yeah, neither was he. He’d read the same
news links from home. It didn’t take all four brothers to impregnate a human
female. “I’ve always wanted a daughter to spoil. With Celeste do you think
we’ll get twin girls, too?”

Not wanting to encourage Raz, Kue chose not to
respond. Together they approached the bridge doors, both falling silent,
focusing on the task of storming the bridge. Raz took up guard position as Kue
started to work on the locks. Seriously a Demos child could pick this mishmash
of different cheap or stolen tech.

Hand signals for the countdown.

Three, Kue’s heart pounded.

Two, his weapons were at the ready.

One, the doors slid open, and they charged inside.

Chapter Fourteen

Celeste’s eyes slid to Zeb’s, who stood stock still
staring at her, in anticipation of her reaction. Loc had let her borrow his
earpiece to talk to Raz and Kue, but before she could say anything she’d heard
their rather candid conversation. She drew in a slow breath letting her stunned
surprise fade before removing the earpiece, and gathering her wits.

Mixed emotions swirled inside her as she contemplated
just how to take this news. From Zeb’s frown, so did he. They all knew there
was a chance they could get her pregnant.
I
am a fool
. She’d been so self-absorbed—she hadn’t to stop to think about
pregnancy.
It’s what usually happens when
you have unprotected sex, idiot.

“
So, I could already be pregnant, could I? Why didn’t
you tell me that was a possibility? You told me don’t lie.”

“
And I haven’t.”

Loc paused in what he was doing to glancing between
them.

She folded her arms to glare at him. “An omission is
just a different form of lie, Zeb.”

He took a step closer, towering over her. But she
refused to cower. She wasn’t afraid.

“
You’ll also recall I said this was no passing fancy,
we want you as our
sheraz
, our wife.
Having young is simply a natural part of our relationship. If it is something
you fear then I am sorry.”

She stepped up to him and poked him in his muscular
chest. “I don’t fear having children. What I don’t like is being left out and lied
to
. I had enough of that back on
Earth. I need you, all of you, to talk to me and tell me what’s going on. Got
it, big guy?”

His lips lifted in a grin. “Got it, beauty.” He
suddenly grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him, his mouth crashing
down on hers in a hard demanding kiss. Her head spun with the heat and
masculine taste of Zeb as he took and plundered her mouth. Already hot and
needy from before, she melted against him. Just like that, he was able to turn her
body into a molten heap of need. He lifted her head, and her eyes drifted open.
She was breathless and craving more. The smug bastard knew the effect he had on
her, but she didn’t care either.

“
Any young we are blessed to have with you will be
brave and beautiful, just like their mother.”

If she’d been wearing panties they would have melted.
Raz’s verbal diarrhoea aside, she half wanted to demand they throw her down
right here and now to make sure she was knocked up. Dreams of strong strapping
sons like their fathers or self-assured beautiful daughters with golden eyes
filled her head. “Can we try again now?”

Zeb’s joyful laughter filled the humming engine room.
“Soon, beautiful, soon.” He kissed her again. “Let’s gain full control of this
situation first.”

“
Yes, sorry.”
 
Her face heated. He kissed her briefly.

“
No, beautiful, never be sorry.”

For the first time in her life she wasn’t.

****

Reedip laughed as he faced Raz and Kue. “You may be
able to take over this ship, but don’t forget there are two others out there,
and all have their weapons pointed at us. At my command they will fire.”

Raz glanced at Kue, and they both smiled maliciously.
“They do have an impressive array of weaponry on all ships. Or rather did.” He
wiggled the detonator between his fingers, flashing it in front of Reedip’s
eyes before hitting the control’s big red button.

Kaboom!

Reedip
 
almost
tripping over his robe, to stare at the screen, his big ears turning a shade of
purple as he watched the explosions take out the weapons and main propulsion
systems on each of the ships. None of course were fatal. Unless you were idiot
enough to be in those systems at the time.

“
I have one more button.” Raz turned his detonator to
show the blue button. “This one destroys the ships entirely. They have…” He
turned to look at Kue. Kue moved to shove the communications Jorval out of the
way and opened a broad comm, so all the ships would hear the transmission. “All
ships now have fifty-nine seconds to evacuate the ships or be blown up with it.
I wonder which holds more value to a Jorval, their life or their death. Time
starts
now
!” Raz hit the button,
almost feeling the mad panic emanating from the damaged Jorval war ships.
Within twelve seconds pods started shooting out from the ships, no doubt
fighting and scrambling over to get out before it blew. At forty seconds there
were no pods left. Too bad if any were left on board. The countdown ended, and
the last charge they’d placed right next to the plasma couplings, which fed
straight to the main engine core, blew. It caused a full explosive chain
reaction through each ship. Shards and shrapnel flew out at them from all
directions.

“
Nicely done, brother.” Raz nodded at Kue.

“
Thank you, brother, and the same to you.”

“
You’re welcome.”

Raz and Kue high-fived each other, then turned back to
the ship’s now ex-commander, enjoying the fear they saw in the creature’s eyes.
“Now you will command all those under your command to gather those who are
conscious, or still alive, to the pods. Either that or face death at the hands
of my brothers and I.” Raz pulled himself to his full threatening height and
advanced on the trembling Reedip.

“
I’m sure you’ll find the planet below quite a pleasant
place. If the beasts and insects don’t eat you alive first, that is,” Kue added
for extra measure.

“
You tried to take what is ours. You blew up our ship,
and now we’ll take everything from you. Oh you’ll live, and probably even be
rescued … eventually. But you will learn. Never, ever fuck with a Demos and
their
sheraz
!”

****

Celeste squealed, running forward and launching
herself into Kue’s arms. He caught her with ease, his mouth crashing down on
hers. She clung to him like a space sucker, kissing him with just as much
pent-up passion.

“
Hey, where’s my greeting?” Raz pouted, staring
hungrily at her.

“
You’re in the doghouse, brother.”
 
Zeb grinned, with folded arms, watching
everything. Clearly he knew more than Raz did from the gleam in his eye.

“
Why?”

“
She borrowed Loc’s earpiece earlier.”

“
Oh.” Raz clued into what Zeb meant. “How much?” Worry
speared though him.

Zeb shrugged. “As much as I did.”

Which meant he was fucked.

He sighed and waited as until Kue had finished and set
her on her feet. She turned her blue eyes on Raz, and his breath caught.

“
Personally I’d make him suffer.” Zeb spoke up, and she
slapped him on the arm.

“
If we’re all in this together, then I need to be able
to make informed choices. I suffered enough back on Earth, from those who tried
to take my choices away and treat me as if I was nothing. I need to know what’s
going on. I need to be able to have a voice in important decisions such as
having children.”

Raz’s heart felt like it would burst through his chest
at her pained words. His mouth was dry.

“
I’m sorry, Celeste. I did not mean … it was just—”

She pulled from Kue and stepped up to him. “It’s okay,
because unlike my past, this time I do trust that you do want what’s best for
not only me, but for all of us.”

Hope filled him, and he felt a little dizzy from it.
It was such an uncommon sensation, he’d rather fight than have to deal with the
hurt in Celeste’s eyes.

“
So I’m not in the doghouse?”

Her smile melted him from the inside out. Damn every
Demos Ice Plain. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her.

“
No, you can’t help being who you are, and I love you
for it. I love all of you for being so wonderful and caring, to help me find
worth and a purpose when I thought I had none.”

All four of them froze at her words. It was the first
time she’d said the words aloud.
 
Her
blue eyes shone with expectation, and there was no way in this life or the next
he or his brothers would ever let her down. “I know we had to take over this
ship, but can we please get to where we’re going as fast as possible? It’s
still a Jorval ship, and it gives me the creeps.”

“
Brothers, you heard what our wife said, and I couldn’t
agree more. Let’s get home and the fuck off this ship.”

Raz’s heart pounded faster as her gaze slid over them
all in reverent adoration. He could no longer control himself. Snatching her
off her feet, he pulled her soft body against his and kissed them both
senseless.

****

On the three day trip at high speed into Galafraxian
space, she learned more about the Jorvals than she cared to know. Despite the
Jorvals being greedy all for profit creatures, when it came to their military,
they surprisingly maintained a high level of cleanliness.

Her men tried to coax her into the old commander’s
quarters, which were lush with rich furnishings, to rest, but she refused,
choosing to either stay on the bridge, which had to be manned at all times, or
in the engine room with Loc. As they had only a four man crew, she helped where
she was able, sitting with Loc at the controls as he showed her each button and
its function. When tired she slumbered in the command chair, often awakening to
find herself cradled in the arms of one her men.

Alarms sounded through the ship. Celeste jolted awake,
to find all four men standing, with their backs to her, arms behind their back
and feet slightly apart.

She’d seen this in military men back home. They were
standing to attention. She blinked, wiping the sleep from her eyes as she saw
upon the lit up screen were several other Demos men, in black official looking
uniforms.

“
Well done, Commander Zeb, you and your brothers have
accomplished what we’ve been trying to do for a while now. It will not go
un-noted, and you will be rewarded for this.”

“
That’s not necessary. We got more than we’d hoped for
from this,” Zeb said. Somehow she knew he was talking about her.

“
Bring the ship into the moon base, and you will be
debriefed as soon as you disembark.”

“
High commander, only two of us will be in the
debriefing room. We have our
sheraz
to care for.”

The high commander waved a dismissive hand. “If she’s
waited this long for you—”

“
High commander,” Zeb snapped cutting the other Demos
male off. “Our new
wife
is human. Two
of us will be with her at all times. She was one of the Jorval captives.”

Surprise replaced the high commander’s irritation at
being interrupted by Zeb.

“
We need our bonding officiated.”

“
Due to recent events, our High Lords have passed a new
law that all human females must be tested and cleared of any biological
influences which may affect their decision to bond with a set of quads.”

The brothers glanced at each other, with their own
surprise of this news.

What does that
mean for me?

“
The process will be explained once you have docked.
Your human will be taken into protective custody until then.”

Her breath caught at the High Commander’s words.
They are going to take me away from my men?

“
Fuck they will. We are no longer Demos military, and
she will stay with us,” growled Raz.

The High Commander sighed. “It is the law. Break it
and risk imprisonment.”

Celeste could no longer stay silent. “Don’t I get a
say in this?”

All four turned to glance at her. Loc broke rank,
making his way to the command chair to take her hand, helping her off the
elevated platform. He escorted her to stand between him and Kue.

“
This is Celeste Coleman, and she has asked a very good
question. Does she get a say in this?”

The High Commander heaved a longsuffering sigh. “I
don’t make the laws concerning human and quad bonding. These are made by the
High Lords, who have their own human
sheraz
.
I am bound to enforce the law. I’m sure once it is established there is no
coercion or she is not being drugged, you will be reunited.”

“
I still don’t like this.” Celeste folded her arms. “I
can tell you right now, I love my quads. There is no coercion or drugs. I’ve
never met a kinder, more wonderful set of men in my whole life. So if this is
the law, those tests better be done damn fast.”

All her men stared at her in utter awe. She felt her
cheeks heat. “What? I’m only stating what’s true, and I don’t want any of you
getting into trouble and ignoring laws because of me.”