knocked again. “Lucy.”
“Um… come back later!” she called, her voice muffled by the thick door.
“We are not coming back,” I said. She may have been in charge the night before, but not now. “Open the door, please.”
“I will if you come back later.”
“What is wrong, Lucy? Are you hurt?” Sambor asked.
“No. I’m fine. It’s just…”
I stared at Sambor and he shrugged.
“Open the door, Lucy, or your ass will have my handprint when you come next.”
She moaned.
“You are hurt. Move away from the door, Lucy. I am opening it to see to your safety.” Sambor’s words were laced with the same dominance as mine, but his held concern too. So much for me being the diplomatic one.
He turned the knob and slowly opened the door, cautious not to bump our mate. Sambor stepped in first and scooped her into his arms. I followed him over to the bed, where he sat, placing her in his lap. His hands roved over her body, and I looked but could find no injury.
“What hurts?” I asked.
She looked to me. “Nothing hurts.”
“Why did you moan?” Sambor asked as she swatted his hands away from her breasts. The way the nipples pebbled beneath her simple white shirt didn’t indicate they were injured. What had she done while we’d been gone?
She closed her eyes. “God, could this be any more embarrassing?”
“No injury is shameful,” Sambor said, lifting her up as if she were a doll so she stood before him. He spun her around in a circle, checking for something broken or bleeding.
“I moaned because Nik’s words were hot.”
Sambor stilled.
My cock was instantly hard. “You want to be spanked.”
She looked over her shoulder at me and blushed a bright pink.
“Well, a good-girl spanking.”
“A good-girl spanking,” Sambor repeated. “You slammed the door in our faces first. Why?”
“Why?” she said, tossing her hands up in the air. “You’re all gorgeous in your uniform and Prillon leadership clothes, and I’ve got my hair up in a sloppy bun. I have no makeup on, and I’m wearing yoga pants and a T-shirt.”
I looked her over from the wild hair on top of her head to her toes. She was covered in freckles, golden dots all over her face and arms. Sam must have noticed the same thing as he hooked a finger into the round collar of her shirt and tugged it down an inch or so, exposing a few more of them.
“I do not know what yoga is,” I replied absently, intrigued by her gorgeous marks. I hadn’t seen them on her face and chest the night before when we’d gotten her bare.
Why would she hide such rare marks?
“It’s an exercise regimen that made me flexible enough to have my knees by my ears last night.”
My mind shifted to fucking her with my hands on her thighs, pushing her legs up and back. She’d been able to achieve remarkable positions with ease.
Sambor’s eyes widened, and his hands went to her hips, slid down the tight fabric that hid none of her curves.
“You are beautiful, mate,” I said. I remembered her words from the night before when she’d told us about her profession, how she wanted to make females feel confident. That their appearance affected their happiness. I’d said it was a mate’s job to make her feel attractive and confident. It was true. She was gorgeous, and I would never stop telling her that.
She laughed and turned to face me, although she didn’t appear amused. “I look like I should have six cats and drink wine while I knit tea cozies.”
I could understand and communicate with members of every planet in the Coalition, but Lucy had me stumped. I had no idea what to say to that, so I just repeated myself. “You are beautiful, mate.”
She huffed, then started coughing. “What did you say?”
Sambor stroked her back.
“I need to say it again?” I asked.
“You called me ‘mate.’”
“He did,” Sambor clarified. “Not once but twice.”
Her pink tongue darted out and licked her lips. “I’m not your mate.”
“Not yet.” I held up the open collars. “You will be.”
She sputtered, then stepped back, although I didn’t let her go far. “You guys are crazy! I can’t be your mate.”
“Why not?” Sam asked.
“This was supposed to be a one-night stand. No matter how good the sex is, a fling’s not the basis for a true match.”
“You chose us last night out of all the males at the party,” I stated.
She ran her hand over her hair, glanced at the ceiling as if it understood