Chapter 57
CASSIE
The world swam dizzily around and around until Cassie had to close her eyes to keep from feeling sick. Luckily, Ravik had a smooth gait and he carried her like she weighed next to nothing—which was certainly not the case.
Cassie barely caught glimpses of the lab complex through slitted eyes. She saw long curved corridors lined with green glass panels, bright diagnostic rooms where bird-like lab assistants bent over glowing instruments, and wide windows that looked out over a landscape she couldn’t quite process.
Cherubin Three seemed to be a world of high white towers, enormous silver-leafed trees, and pale gold sky, all of it blurred around the edges because the dizziness kept making her vision swim.
It might have been beautiful…it also might have been one more alien planet where people wanted to hook her up to medical equipment and do extremely personal things to her body in the name of science, so Cassie decided to reserve judgment.
Ravik carried her as easily as if she weighed nothing at all, one big arm behind her back and the other under her knees.
His chest was warm and solid against her cheek, and she could hear the steady thud of his heart under her ear.
It was comforting, even though he was still tense enough that his muscles felt like stone beneath her hand.
Severin walked close on her other side, keeping pace with them.
Every so often his fingers brushed her wrist or the back of her hand, as though he was checking her pulse without making a big production of it.
Or maybe he just needed to touch her as much as she needed him to touch her.
Cassie wasn’t sure, and she was too woozy to sort it out.
Their guide, Lipshill, fluttered ahead of them down the corridor.
The colorful crest on his head bobbed with every step, opening and closing like a little rainbow fan whenever he spoke.
He had a long narrow beak, glossy blue-black feathers around his face, and bright yellow eyes that kept darting back to make sure they were following.
“This way, please! The finest guest suite is reserved for medically significant reproductive incubation cases,” he chirped. “You will find it most soothing, I think. Very private, very comfortable, and equipped with everything required for extended cooperative treatment.”
Cassie cracked one eye open.
“Extended cooperative treatment?” she mumbled.
Lipshill’s crest fluttered wider.
“Yes! Dr. Verityx believes your cooperative endocrine exchange may require repeated applications. The suite is designed for rest, nourishment, comfort, and copulation.”
Cassie closed her eye.
“Again with the copulation,” she muttered.
Severin made a low, concerned sound beside her.
“Are you all right, sweetheart?” he asked softly.
“No,” she said. “But I’m not sure which part I’m objecting to most right now—the dizziness, the boob medicine, the zombie virus, or the fact that apparently I’ve been assigned to a sex suite by an owl doctor.”
Ravik’s chest rumbled under her cheek, almost like he was trying not to laugh.
It was the first sound of amusement she’d heard from him in what felt like forever, and it made her feel warm and gooey inside. She wanted to look up at him and see if his mouth was actually twitching, but opening her eyes still made the hallway spin, so she decided to stay where she was.
“Where’s the fucking suite?” Ravik said gruffly. “Cassie needs to rest.”
“Yes, yes, of course.” Lipshill hurried faster, his crest bobbing. “Rest and nourishment first. Then whatever level of treatment her body requires. The suite sensors will alert Dr. Verityx if her distress markers rise too high.”
That got Cassie’s attention.
“There are sensors in the room?” she asked, opening both eyes this time and immediately regretting it when the walls did a slow, nauseating tilt.
“Medical sensors only,” Lipshill assured her. “No visual recording unless requested by the patient or physician. Dr. Verityx is very strict about privacy during reproductive procedures.”
“Good to know,” Cassie muttered. “Because I am not starring in anyone’s alien medical training porno.”
“No one would ask that of you,” Severin said, his voice low and firm. “What we do together will be kept private.”
He was speaking to her, but Cassie couldn’t help noticing he was looking at Ravik, who remained stoically silent.
The dizziness finally began to ease by the time they reached a wide arched door at the end of the corridor.
It was made of the same green-tinted translucent material as the lab panels, and it opened with a soft chime when Lipshill touched one taloned finger to the wall.
Warm golden light spilled out, along with the faint scent of flowers, clean sheets, and something sweetly spicy that made Cassie’s body give a little pulse of interest.
Of course her body liked the sex suite, she thought dryly. Why wouldn’t it?
“This is the guest suite prepared for you,” Lipshill announced proudly. “Please let me know if anything is inadequate. I have stocked the nourishment alcove with stamina foods, cream-production tonics for the males, and soothing fluids for the female’s mammary activation discomfort.”
Cassie lifted her head weakly from Ravik’s chest.
“Cream-production tonics?” she asked, arching an eyebrow at the bird-man.
Lipshill nodded cheerfully.
“Yes. Dr. Verityx said high output may be required. The tonics are very effective to increase the volume of cream produced.”
“I’m sure they are,” Cassie said faintly.
Severin and Ravik exchanged a short glance but said nothing.
Ravik carried her inside before she could ask anything else about “cream production” and Cassie got to have a look at the suite.
It was much larger than she expected, with curved walls, soft green-gold lighting, and a wide window that looked out over an alien garden filled with silver-leafed trees and hanging lantern-shaped flowers.
A shallow bathing pool steamed gently in one corner, surrounded by smooth stone steps and piles of fluffy towels.
There was a sitting area with curved couches, a low table covered in covered dishes, and a wall of cabinets she had a feeling contained medical supplies and maybe things she didn’t want to know about just yet.
But the focal point of the suite was the bed—it took up nearly half the room.
Actually, calling it a bed seemed inadequate.
It was more like a circular nest-platform piled with soft green and gold blankets, oversized pillows, and some kind of adaptive mattress that looked like it would mold itself around whoever lay on it.
It was enormous—big enough for two Kindred warriors and one overwhelmed human woman to sleep in without crowding.
Or to do other things, whispered a little voice in Cassie’s head. Her face got hot at the thought.
Ravik felt her tense and looked down at her immediately.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly. “Just realizing that alien medical hospitality is extremely committed to the theme.”
Severin glanced toward the bed, then away again with a faint flush on his cheekbones.
“It does seem…purpose-built.”
“Purpose-built for what?” Ravik demanded.
Cassie looked up at him.
“Do you really want me to answer that?”
His jaw tightened.
“No.”
“I just meant its big enough for the three of us to…be together,” she explained, despite his closed expression.
As if to fill the awkward silence, Lipshill hurried over to the low table and began lifting covers from the dishes.
“There are savory stamina cakes, mineral nectar, three varieties of protein-rich grains, and a warmed tonic that should increase seminal output in Kindred males within two hours,” he chirped.
“There is also a cooling breast compress for Cassandra, though Dr. Verityx said the mammary ache may actually indicate a promising response.”
“My boobs are now a promising response,” Cassie murmured. “Wonderful.”
Ravik’s arms tightened around her.
“Enough with the fucking tour,” he growled at Lipshill. “She needs to lie down.”
“Yes, yes, of course.” The feathered assistant backed toward the door, crest fluttering anxiously. “I will leave you to rest and begin cooperative treatment at your own pace. Please call if you require anything. The wall panel responds to voice commands.”
“Thank you, Lipshill,” Severin said politely.
“You’re very welcome, Commander Severin. Best of luck with the copulation.” Lipshill bobbed his head once, then hurried out through the door before anyone could respond.
The door closed behind him and for a moment, the three of them were silent—then Cassie started laughing.
She couldn’t help it—it bubbled out of her, weak and breathless and probably a little hysterical.
Ravik looked down at her in alarm, while Severin’s mouth twitched like he was trying very hard to maintain his dignity and failing.
“Best of luck with…with the copulation,” Cassie gasped, pressing a hand to her mouth.
Ravik frowned.
“I don’t fucking like him wishing us luck.”
“That’s the part you object to?” Cassie asked.
Severin finally gave a quiet laugh.
“It was…awkwardly phrased.”
“It was the most alien-doctor’s-office thing I have ever heard,” Cassie said. “And considering the last few days of my life, that is really saying something.”
Her laughter faded as another wave of dizziness swept over her.
Ravik noticed at once and carried her to the giant nest-bed, lowering her onto the soft mattress as carefully as if she was made of glass.
The bed accepted her weight with a warm, gentle give, cradling her body in a way that made her sigh despite herself.
“Oh,” she whispered. “Okay, this bed is ridiculous, but I may never want to leave it.”
Ravik knelt beside her, his brows drawn together.
“Still dizzy, baby?” he rumbled.
“A little,” she admitted. “Not as bad as before.”
Severin sat on the other side of the bed, leaving a careful amount of space between himself and Ravik, Cassie noticed. The space between them felt bigger than the bed itself.
“Any nausea?” he asked, stroking her forehead.
“No.” She glanced at him, then at Ravik. “But my breasts are starting to ache.”
Both males went very still and exchanged a glance. There was concern in their eyes—sharp and immediate.
“How badly?” Severin asked.
“Not terrible. Just…heavy.” Cassie shifted against the pillows, trying to find a comfortable position. “Like before my period used to come, only warmer. And tighter. Like something is waking up in there.”
Ravik made a low sound.
“Does it hurt a lot, baby?” he rumbled.
“Not yet.” She looked down at herself, feeling suddenly self-conscious. “It’s just strange, that’s all.”
Severin’s gaze softened.
“The serum is likely beginning to stimulate the breast tissue. Dr. Verityx said the first aches might start quickly.”
“Dr. Verityx said a lot of things,” Cassie muttered. “Most of them terrifying.”
Ravik reached for her, then stopped himself.
His hand hovered above her blanket-covered thigh for a moment before he drew it back.
Cassie saw the movement and felt a little pang in her chest. He wanted to touch her, but he was still holding himself apart, still trying to keep some invisible line between himself and Severin and whatever they were all becoming.
She hated that line—she also understood that it scared him.
“Ravik,” she said softly.
His golden eyes came to hers at once.
“You can touch me,” Cassie told him. “I mean, if you want to. I know everything is weird and scary and medically ridiculous right now, but I don’t want you holding back from me like I’m radioactive.”
“Well, you are infected with a dangerous virus,” Severin pointed out.
Cassie turned her head and gave him a look.
“Not helping.”
The corners of his mouth twitched, showing his fangs.
“Sorry.”
Ravik’s big hand settled carefully on her thigh over the blanket. The warmth of him seeped through the fabric, and Cassie felt some of the trembling in her body ease. A second later, Severin reached for her hand on the other side and laced his long fingers through hers.
The relief was immediate.
Cassie closed her eyes and took a deeper breath than she had managed since the injection.
“Oh,” she whispered. “That helps. Having both of you touching me at the same time feels so good.”
Neither male spoke for a moment, then Severin’s thumb stroked over her knuckles.
“Do you need us closer?” he asked.
The question was quiet and careful and Cassie understood it wasn’t meant only for her.
Ravik’s fingers tightened on her thigh, but he didn’t pull away.
She looked at them both.
“Yes, I’m too dizzy and everything is too much. I just need both of you near me. Please.”
Ravik looked at Severin. It wasn’t a friendly look but it wasn’t filled with hate or fear or anger either.
“Cassie needs us both,” he rumbled.
“Yes,” Severin said quietly. “She does.” He looked at her. “What do you need, sweetheart? Do you need to drink our cream again?”
Cassie thought about it…and shook her head.
“No, it’s not the thirst that’s bothering me—it’s the emptiness,” she admitted.
“I need…” Her cheeks burned with embarrassment but she reminded herself they were doing this for science.
“I think I need to be filled,” she said at last. “You know…down there.” And she nodded to the place between her legs where her pussy was throbbing with need.
“Of course, sweetheart,” Severin murmured, stroking her hair. “How do you want to do it?”
“Well, I don’t want to be on top—not when I feel this dizzy,” Cassie said. “Maybe another way?”
“She’s too weak to have a shaft in her yet,” Ravik said, before Severin could reply.
The Blood Kindred nodded.
“We need to taste her first—to prime her body and get her ready for our shafts,” he said. “She’s too tight to take us otherwise.”
“Do you want to taste her first?” Ravik asked gruffly. “I know you haven’t had a chance to taste her honey, except when—”
He broke off abruptly and Cassie wondered if he was remembering the way Severin had sucked her juices off his fingers.
“I do want to taste her—very much,” Severin murmured, giving Cassie a half-lidded look, his blue eyes sweeping over her body in a way that made her cheeks get warm.
“Then you go first.” Ravik started to get off the bed, but Cassie stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“Wait, please,” she murmured weakly. “Please, Ravik—I know you don’t like to share but I need you both. Please…won’t you hold me while Severin tastes me?”
She saw emotions warring in his eyes—desire fighting with shame—but at last, he nodded.
“Of course, baby—if that’s what you need.”
“I do need it—I need both of you,” Cassie told him.
“Then you’ll have both of us,” Severin promised. “Now let’s get you undressed.”