Enduring (Valos of Sonhadra Book 8) Read online

  How would it work?

  I’ve heard of polygamous relationships on Earth, but most of them involved a man having multiple wives, not the other way around. Either way, personally, I certainly had never met anyone who was in a relationship with more than one person, and I had no idea how it all worked.

  What if it didn’t? I was terrified to make a mistake and spoil the warm friendship that had formed between Vlunn, Rock, and me.

  Remaining friends seemed to be the safest route to take. I just wasn't sure how long I could keep it up.

  A FEW DAYS AFTER I’D acquired my new clothes, Rock and Vlunn took me through a short maze of spacious tunnels not too far from the main cavern. The tunnels led to a series of shallow caves with collapsed ceilings that let in plenty of sunshine.

  Here used to be the gardens of Stone Valos. Long ago, it was a place for them to enjoy a variety of plants and flowers, carefully arranged in picturesque compositions along a bubbling mountain stream.

  Several tall trees with thick trunks grew from the rocky ground. Their canopies hovered high above the edge of the openings in the ceiling. Natural sunlight entered the space below in bright patches.

  Valos didn’t eat plant-based food. The men explained to me that they couldn’t even digest anything other than animal meat. The garden was created purely for aesthetics and relaxation.

  By now, of course, it had been overrun with weeds. Upon a more thorough examination, however, I found it was salvageable. I thought I could clean some of it up and transplant a few edible plants from the forest in here. Then I could supplement my own diet and at the same time have a beautiful place for the men to relax.

  I found brualdak’s meat much better tasting than ixilip’s, but an all-meat diet was not healthy for humans, not to mention it was boring and monotonous. I longed to add some variety.

  During the next few days, with the help of the valos, I cleared a section not too far from the stream to make the vegetable garden.

  Talking Rock into taking me along into the forest with him proved to be a little more difficult. Both Vlunn and Rock insisted that I was safer in the cave.

  “I’ll bring a knife with me,” I promised earnestly. “Besides, I’m sure you can protect me from anything that’d dare to get in our way.” I smiled sweetly, imploring Rock to agree. “Maybe, you can teach me a few things about hunting, so I could be more helpful around here too.” They had done so much for me. The stronger I got the more I wanted to contribute, searching for ways to be useful.

  Eventually, Rock gave in under the condition that I would not leave his side. I felt nervous anticipation about spending the whole day one on one with him in the forest. I also couldn’t wait to explore more of the world around me.

  In preparation for our trip, Rock altered a pair of boots for me. As I watched him skillfully take each boot apart, cut it to size and then put all the parts together again with sure, even stitches, he explained that all Stone Valos had one purpose at the time of their creation. However, they all had to learn many other skills since then. As many of them were dying, they started teaching their skills to others, to make sure their trades remained to support the rest.

  Once again, I felt the sharp sting of sadness, thinking about the two of them being the last survivors of their race. The hope they must have felt when Rock brought me in from the forest.

  After so many departures, I was the first arrival in almost a thousand years, the first woman they had ever met beside their Creator. The woman they thought could be the mate for one of them. As much as they had been trying to convince me otherwise, the disappointment of discovering I was not their fated one must have been crushing.

  I fell asleep in my bed, which was much comfier now that Rock had added another brualdak hide to it and I’d used several less decorated pieces of fabric from the vault to make proper bedding for it.

  As I recovered, physically and emotionally, my sleep had become more sound and my dreams more peaceful. Still, some nights, nightmares rose from the black hole of my subconscious mind to torment me with my past.

  IT WAS THE DARKNESS again. It took over my body, making me unable to stir a muscle and filling me with panic. The darkness meant that something bad was about to happen to me. I didn’t want to wake up, but I knew I had no choice. Sooner or later, I would have to face the reality of pain and suffering again.

  “No!” I sobbed, not sure if the word actually left my lips or remained inside my head bouncing around my brain. Pain, pain, and more pain . . .

  “Shshsh.” A voice came from above me. The rough, warm skin of gentle male hands sliding up and down my arms.

  I lifted my hand to clasp one of his—no restraints, no rubber bands holding me in place.

  “Zoya, you’re okay,” implored a low, familiar voice, filled with concern and kindness. “I’m here.”

  I rolled onto my side to face him. “Vlunn.”

  Reality slowly filtered in. I was in my bed, in our cave. He’d climbed under the covers with me and was holding me close.

  “You had a bad dream.”

  “A nightmare,” I exhaled and buried my head in his chest as his arms tightened around me.

  I breathed in his skin, warm and spicy. So familiar, so calming.

  I’m not on the Concord anymore.

  No pain, no scalpels, no drugs. Just Vlunn. Big, strong, caring. I nuzzled between his chest plates. Enticing. Irresistible.

  I arched my back under the soothing caress of his hands, and a small soft moan of relief escaped my lips. Fear and tension drained from my body, letting a sweet, achy yearning slowly seep in instead.

  “Zoya?” His voice changed, and his hands stilled.

  I groaned with frustration and pressed my forehead into his chest, refusing to look at him.

  “I know. I shouldn’t . . .”

  It had become a torture, my need for him, for both of them. I had their friendship, their trust, and their loyalty. Why did I need more? Greedy, insatiable, I couldn’t get enough of them.

  “Why, not?” His hands resumed their travels along my skin. Now, however, his touch was more sensual and exciting than soothing.

  “It’s just . . . I’m confused,” I groaned again, exasperated. “I don’t know what is the right thing to do.”

  “What do you feel?” His whisper in my ear was hot and entreating. “Don’t worry about anyone else. What do you want?”

  “You,” I whimpered, confessing my deepest, darkest secret. “I want you. As more than just a friend.”

  “Why is it wrong for you to want me? Is it because I’m not one of your kind? It doesn’t stop me from wanting you, so much it hurts. Just say a word, Zoya, and I—”

  “But it’s not right, Vlunn,” I didn’t let him finish, scared of what he’d say, terrified of what I would do then. “How can it be right? You have Rock. And, even if you didn’t . . .” I inhaled and came completely clean. “I—I feel things for Rock too. Can it be right for a woman to want two men?”

  I closed my eyes, dreading his reply. Now that I had bared my soul, he was free to judge.

  “Is it considered wrong in your world?” His hands continued their hypnotic dance on my shoulders, down my back and lower.

  I sighed, my words barely audible. “It’s not how I was raised. I was taught that wanting a man, feeling any sexual attraction towards him is wrong. Having a sexual fascination with two men . . . I have no idea what everyone I know would think about it back home.”

  He chuckled at my distress, confusing me.

  “Zoya.” He nuzzled my ear. “For better or for worse, your world is gone. You have a chance to start anew. It’s up to you how much or how little of the old customs you want to bring into your new life.”

  His breath tickled the side of my neck as he trailed his lips down. His words tempted me and ignited my imagination with possibilities.

  “There are no rules here, Zoya, but the ones you make.”

  No rules, no limits, no one to judge. Right now, right h
ere, there was no shame. My head swam from the idea of the complete freedom I had in front of me. All I needed to do was let go of the past.

  “I’m yours, Zoya.”

  He was offering himself to me. The biggest gift of all.

  “Oh, Vlunn.” It was so simple to surrender to him in return.

  With a low groan, he moved over me, the hard ridge of his erection nudged between my legs. Only the thin tunic I wore for a nightgown separated us. I angled my hips towards him, seeking more contact, more pressure. He reached for the ties in front of my tunic wrenching at them with force, ripping them off instead of untying the knot.

  “Zoya,” he whispered fervently before his lips landed on mine in a hungry kiss that took my breath away.

  My heart all but stopped when a sudden thought shot through my brain, dowsing my frantic need for him like a bucket of icy water.

  “Rock,” I whispered, pushing at Vlunn’s chest plates. “I can’t do this to Rock. It’d be cheating.”

  He didn’t seem to understand me. His eyes glowed amber in the night. His hand found its way under my tunic and cupped my breast, refusing to let go.

  I didn’t want to stop, but I needed to focus. I closed my eyes for a moment, collecting my thoughts.

  No rules but what I make them to be.

  True, I could take as much or as little from my old world as I chose. I could disregard every rule, if I wanted to. This wasn’t about the world, though. This was about me. No cheating was my own personal belief, ingrained deeper than societal norms.

  “I couldn’t do this to Rock,” I repeated firmly.

  “Even if I’m here?”

  Rock?

  Shocked, I opened my eyes wide at Rock’s voice, which sounded still a little groggy from sleep. He tossed my blanket to the floor and climbed on the bed next to us.

  “It can’t be cheating if I’m with you, can it?” He gave me a lopsided grin.

  I blinked and opened my mouth, speechless. Vlunn lowered his lips to mine again, swallowing my gasp.

  My eyes closed, my head spinning from their mere presence in my bed, I shivered with anticipation. The two men I had been fantasizing about and struggling to keep at a distance all this time were finally here, ready for me to make them mine.

  My mind reeling, all doubts silenced, I embraced the moment. Right now, nothing else mattered.

  I moaned into Vlunn’s mouth, eagerly returning his kiss. Rock’s hard body pressed against mine. He ripped the tunic off my shoulder a moment before his warm lips closed over my nipple. I felt his razor-sharp teeth graze my skin. The tiny needles of pain immediately blossomed into fireworks of pleasure, spreading all the way through to my core.

  Rock’s hand slid under my tunic and found its way between my thighs. With a moan I opened wider for him, letting him part my folds and slip his finger inside the slick heat pulsing between my legs.

  The tension, the torturing ache of yearning that I had been suppressing all this time expanded and swallowed me whole, released by his skillful touch.

  I moaned again, as Vlunn’s mouth travelled down the side of my neck, and arched my back, pushing into Rock’s hand between my legs.

  Rock growled, the hard bulge of his erection rubbing against the side of my thigh. His thick, warm finger moved in and out of me, dragging up and down along the most sensitive part of my body with every move, winding an invisible spring inside of me.

  “Oh, God, more . . . please . . .” I breathed out between Vlunn’s kisses.

  “Do you want me inside you?” Vlunn’s hot whisper fanned across the side of my face.

  “Please . . .”

  He pushed up from me and fisted his straining cock.

  Rock removed his hand and I whimpered in protest, missing his touch immediately. He positioned himself on his knees behind Vlunn. His red eyes burned through me over Vlunn’s shoulder as he reached for the hem of my tunic and pushed it up all the way past my waist.

  From behind Vlunn, Rock took hold of my hips, as I lay there bared for them with my legs open wide and my heart thundering in my chest.

  This was surreal.

  Vlunn sensed my scattered emotions.

  “Don’t think, just feel, Zoya.” He held the tip of his cock at my opening. His eyes firmly on mine. “How does it feel?” He pushed in gently.

  All air left my lungs in one breath. Massive! And oh, so wonderful. The ability to think was quickly deserting me. My body stretched around him, welcoming him.

  My gaze flickered to Rock, who was watching me intently over Vlunn’s shoulder. His fingers flexed in response and squeezed my hips tighter.

  Two pairs of bejeweled eyes pinning me in place felt forbidden, and . . . enticing. A fine web of shivers rippled along my skin under their intense attention, further fanning my burning need.

  I inhaled deeply and pushed up to meet Vlunn, taking his whole length in.

  Something hard at the base of his shaft pressed directly against my clit when our bodies fully connected, causing a blissful sensation to shoot through me.

  “Oh, God . . . What is that?” I breathed out with a moan of pleasure.

  He stilled for a second, his arms shaking with restrain. “Do you want me to stop?”

  “Don’t you dare . . .” I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly, and rolled my hips, urging him on.

  He hissed and buried his nose in my shoulder, which brought Rock’s face closer to mine, so close, I felt his breath on my lips, swollen and wet from Vlunn’s kisses.

  His red eyes flared with fire, his jaw flexed with raw determination. He drove into Vlunn from behind. The power of his assault pushed Vlunn’s cock deeper into me, and the bulge at the base of it rubbed harder against my clit, knocking all air out of my lungs, “Oh, yes . . . ”

  With a groan at my shoulder, Vlunn moved in and out of me. Slowly at first, his pace quickly accelerated, as he matched Rock’s increased rhythm, thrust for thrust.

  Rock never took his eyes off me. His cock was buried deep inside Vlunn, slamming in with force, but his eyes were glued to mine, watching the slightest change in my expression. Through Vlunn’s body, I felt the raw passion of each of Rock’s frantic thrusts. His growls rumbled through my chest.

  This is insane.

  Writhing under their rock-hard, massive bodies, I could barely breathe, riding wave after wave of combined passion. Afraid of being swept away into oblivion by their frenzied hunger, in a desperate attempt to anchor myself in the reality, I splayed my hand on the cold wall next to me, my nails scraping at the polished stone.

  Breathe. Feel.

  The rumbling groans—the same sounds of unbridled passion I dreamed about at night after I overheard them—echoed through the cave. Only now, I was with them, under them. A part of them. This time, I was the reason for their ecstasy.

  Eyes closed, I let out a long moan the moment the tight coils of pleasure inside of me unraveled and exploded. Breathless, I arched under Vlunn’s body as everything inside me convulsed in the sweet spasms of a blissful release.

  Muffled by my shoulder, Vlunn’s groans grew louder when the rhythm of his thrusts broke and his hips jerked forward. His pelvis ground into mine with increased urgency, sending more waves of ecstasy through me.

  “Look at me!” I heard Rock’s thundering roar, and my eyes flew open, obeying his command.

  Teeth bared, eyes aglow, he roared louder. The deafening echo reverberated through the tunnel and my body, reaching my very core. My muscles tightened around Vlunn’s shaft, still inside me, reaping another series of orgasmic shudders from me.

  “You—” Rock choked out past the surge of his own climax, and I felt the convulsions of his hips pushing through Vlunn into me.

  “You—” he groaned as he collapsed over Vlunn’s back, boneless and spent, then rolled off him to my side.

  Vlunn shifted his body to the opposite side of me but left one leg draped over my hips.

  His chest heaving, Rock gathered me in his arms and threw his leg
over my thighs, just below Vlunn’s.

  “You are everything,” Vlunn kissed my temple.

  Speechless, I nuzzled his shoulder and stroked Rock’s thigh.

  “Are you alright?” asked Vlunn after a few peaceful moments, seemingly disturbed by my silence. “How do you feel?”

  Rock rose on his elbow, searching my eyes.

  How did I really feel? I gathered my thoughts for a moment to answer Vlunn’s question truthfully.

  I felt cherished, thoroughly satisfied, content . . . No, more than content. Relieved and giddy with happiness.

  It felt right. There was no awkward triangle between us. No cheating. I didn’t have to choose between the two men I cared deeply about or break my heart by struggling to stay away from them both. Simply being with them, both of them, erased any anxiety.

  I smiled at my men and answered with a complete honesty, “I’m happy.”

  My life. My world. My rules.

  “I feel very happy.”

  Chapter 15

  It was wonderful to wake up between Rock and Vlunn the next morning. After making love last night, we all went to the waterfall, and then I fell asleep in my bed, cocooned between their large bodies warmed up by the water in the pool. By now, however, they had cooled to the temperature of the stone walls around us, and I wrapped the furs tightly about myself to keep warm.

  As much as I would have loved to cuddle with them in the morning, it would feel like pressing my warm body to two cold, granite statues, so I avoided skin-to-skin contact in the early hours. Still, I couldn’t hold back a smile finding Vlunn’s gold gem-eyes staring at me with adoration when I woke up.

  A soft tender kiss landed on my lips. “Good morning.”

  “Who taught you to kiss like that?” I stretched languidly, feeling deliciously sore in all the right places.

  “Ilena.” Vlunn’s voice was calm, matter-of-fact, but my eyes flew wide at his answer. A poisonous tendril of jealousy slithered around my heart at hearing her name. Immediately, uninvited images of just how she might have been teaching my men to kiss assaulted my imagination.