Chapter 20
SEVERIN
Severin waited until Ravik and Cassandra were both asleep before slipping out of the bed and going to the bunker’s small fresher. Once there, he pulled down his sleep trousers and gripped his shaft in one hand.
Closing his eyes tightly, he let the memories wash over him—the sight of Cassandra arching and moaning as Ravik fucked her with his fingers. The way her nipples had gotten so hard for him as he sucked them and the sweet, feminine scent of her desire permeating the air.
Gods, he’d never wanted it to stop! But watching her come apart had been the ultimate pleasure. It had been so long since he’d watched a woman come…and even longer since he’d shared a woman with his partner.
He couldn’t help remembering that drunken night again—though he was sure Ravik had been drunker than he was. The way the Theramite woman who had wanted to take them both on at once had cried out when they’d shared her…begging to feel both of them in her at the same time…
Severin relived the whole incident as he stroked himself—only in his imagination the Theramite woman wore Cassandra’s face and had her luscious curves and sweet scent…
With the taste of her honey mixed with the salt of his friend’s skin still on his lips, he finally came—his thick shaft fountaining cream all over his fist as he gripped himself.
“Gods,” he groaned at last, resting his forehead on the cool stone wall.
He was certain nothing like tonight was going to happen again—he was surprised that Cassandra had allowed it in the first place and he was certain Ravik probably wouldn’t have gone along with it if he was in his right mind.
After all, Beast Kindred didn’t share mates.
But it had been amazing while it lasted and he knew he would always have the memory of sharing the gorgeous, curvy little human with his best friend.
And now that the “pipes were cleared” his brain was free to think of other things besides desire.
He frowned as he considered Cassandra’s effect on Ravik’s virus-ravaged mind.
Her scent…her taste…and she’d complained about hormone fluctuations.
Could any of that have to do with her effect on his best friend?
Severin was tempted to go straight to the lab and start running experiments at once. Only two things stopped him. First, he didn’t have the material he needed—he would have to get all kinds of samples from Cassandra to even begin to do what needed to be done.
And second, he didn’t want to miss sleeping in the same bed with his friend and the curvy little human.
He had always been secretly jealous of Twin Kindred and the way they always shared a bed with their mate between them.
He liked the idea of being curled up and warm with his Ravik and Cassandra—who he was beginning to like very much, even if she was stubborn at times.
Of course she was a beautiful Mature Elite—a woman he and Ravik probably couldn’t have gotten back aboard the Mother Ship. Someone like Cassandra could have her pick of the warriors there.
But here, in the back of beyond and light years from competition, he actually felt like the two of them had a shot.
Well…not that they would ever be able to share her for real—not if Ravik ever came back to his right mind.
But Severin didn’t want to miss the chance to be with such a beautiful, desirable woman and his best friend too—even in a limited way.
So he went back to the mating chamber and sure enough, Ravik was lying on his side, “spooning” Cassandra—a human term which had made no sense to Severin until a friend showed him the silverware from Earth and how it fit together.
Cassandra was already half asleep and so was Ravik. He had one big arm thrown over her waist and was holding her possessively close to his big body.
Severin was slightly disappointed—he’d been hoping to have contact with Cassandra as he slept. However, it was enough just to share a bed with her and his best friend, he told himself.
He climbed carefully into the huge bed, being sure not to jostle either of them, and lay down with his back to the curvy little human, about a foot away from her.
He was just getting settled and closing his eyes when he was surprised to feel fingers trailing along his spine.
“Hmm?” He turned his head and saw that Cassandra had one eye cracked open and was reaching for him.
“Hey—aren’t you cold over there?” she asked drowsily.
“The bed is heated—there’s no way I could be cold,” Severin pointed out.
Cassandra gave him a sleepy frown.
“Well maybe, I’m cold—did you think of that?” she asked.
“Uh, no. Forgive me, I didn’t,” Severin admitted. “Would you like me to, er, warm you up?”
“Just scoot back some—get closer,” she said. “That way my front will be as warm as my back.”
Severin did as she asked, scooting back until she was spooning him the way Ravik was spooning her. He was afraid his friend’s hand would get in the way but—to his surprise—Ravik made a sleepy sound and lifted his arm. When he laid it down again, his big hand was resting on Severin’s hip.
Severin stiffened at first. He and Ravik had been best friends for years, but they’d never fallen asleep touching before. Not even the night they’d shared the Theramite woman.
You didn’t mind sucking Cassandra’s honey off his fingers. Why are you getting upset about him touching you now? whispered a skeptical little voice in his head.
Well, that was true, Severin conceded. And there was nothing overtly sexual about having his friend’s hand on his hip. In fact, it felt warm—comfortable, to sleep together with him and Cassandra.
We really are like spoons in a drawer, all nested together, he thought as he let himself relax at last.
Cassandra seemed to like the sleeping arrangement too because she made a sleepy noise of contentment and slipped one soft arm around his waist as her breasts pressed against his back.
“Better now?” Severin asked her. “Are you warm enough, sweetheart?”
“Much better,” she murmured. “Just hope I don’t have a hot flash tonight. I just can’t stannn…”
Her words drifted off to a sleepy murmur he didn’t catch.
Severin was about to ask what she’d said, when he realized her breathing had grown regular and the arm around his waist was limp with sleep.
The realization gave him a warm feeling. The curvy little human had fallen asleep between him and Ravik, which was another secret fantasy of his.
Feeling happier than he had since he and Ravik had come to this awful planet, Severin allowed himself to sleep as well.
Tomorrow he would begin to test his theories. For now, he just wanted to relax into the warmth and three-way intimacy he’d been craving for so long.