Bonded by Ria Candro Read Free Book Online Page A

had made their way back here. They hadn’t mentioned what had happened, but rather held her close and shared more stories about their planet. From their descriptions of the place, it seemed like somewhere she would like to visit.
    A happy smile crept to her lips. The two men would have her spoiled by the time she left this planet.
    Left them .
    Reality intruded, dashing away her daydreams like a bucket of ice water to the face. There was no happily ever after here. Not for her. Not as long as Cindra was out there, alone.
    She wiggled her way out of their arms. This time they both woke, and she got the sense they’d never fully given in to sleep, fearful she’d slip away like she did the last time. Forcing a smile to her face, she placed her hands on her hips.
    “I’d like to get an early start. If we make haste, I believe we can reach my ship by midday.”
    Agile as a cat, Neichon rose to his feet. The muscles of his chest and forearms rippled, and Inara had to look away to fight the irrational burst of lust that spiked within her. She was beginning to fear she’d always respond to them this way. Always want them.
    “Have you ever worked on your spacejet before?” Neichon asked while Valeron stood and arched his back.
    She nodded, keeping her gaze averted from the two men. Staring at them was like staring at the sun, awe-inspiring but ultimately bad for her.
    “I learned early on that one can’t operate a spacejet without learning how to repair it.”
    Though she’d never crashed it before. Part of her feared what the poor thing would look like. But even if it had landed in a million pieces, she would get it back together and running again.
    What other option did she have?
    “Never fear, Inara.” Neichon approached and tugged her into his arms. “We’ll get your jet working again. The three of us can accomplish it.”
    The surprising weight of tears pressed against her eyelids. Furrowing her brow, she blinked furiously to dispel them. She never cried. Not anymore. And she wasn’t about to go soft just because two hunks wanted to take care of her.
    “Thanks, but I could do it myself,” she said tartly, pulling out of Neichon’s grasp and striding from the clearing so he wouldn’t see the expression on her face. She stood out in the forest alone, fighting to regain her composure. By the time the two men joined her, she was back to her normal self. Tough, strong Inara. No one could take that away from her.
    Valeron gave her a curious glance but she ignored it, nodding instead in the direction of her jet.
    “Let’s go, boys.”
    * * * * *
     
    Morning gave away to afternoon, and their female had still barely spoken two words to them. Valeron observed her as they trod through the lush, green forest. Straight ahead, no more than a few hundred feet away, stood a range of mountains composed of brown and orange-colored rock. Inara’s jet had crashed at the edge of the forest, right next to that first mountain.
    The fact they were so close to her ship had done nothing to alleviate the curiosity that had been building ever since he and Neichon had met Inara. Their mate was an intriguing blend of hot and cold. Just last night she’d shown them ecstasy such as they’d never known before, but now she acted as if they were nothing more than an annoyance to her.
    What was she hiding?
    One thing was certain. He was determined they would figure out what made her pull away from them. What made her decry what her spirit must know was true.
    That she was their mate.
    A break in the trees straight ahead of them displayed a tantalizing hint of silver. Spotting it, Inara broke into a trot. “My jet!”
    He and Neichon exchanged wary glances, then scuttled after her. Pray that the ship could be repaired. If not…he didn’t know how long they would be stuck on this planet before Reyu or Petros figured out the transmitter had malfunctioned.
    By the time they caught up with Inara, she had already squatted beside her jet.