Free Mated by Ria Candro Page B

all. It spoke in English, as they had programmed upon
    their arrival, intent on dispelling as much of their mate’s uneasiness as possible once they’d found her and gotten her aboard the ship.
    “Attention crew, there has been a possible sighting of the ship. A spacecraft is
    quickly approaching on the port side. Attention crew, there has been a possible
    sighting…”
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    “Gods,” Andros muttered, thrusting his loincloth back down over his groin. His
    men stalked toward the door leading back into the control room, all business as they
    prepared to deal with the possible threat to their mate’s safety.
    He turned back to Natalie, who’d removed her legs from the armrests and stood up,
    pulling the fabric of her tunic up over her nipples. “Forgive me, mate,” he said, as he stalked to one of the tables and opened the thin drawer built into the side, grabbing a cloth and bringing it over to her. He leaned down to press a kiss to her lips as he
    handed it to her. “We must see to the safety of the ship. But I promise, once we have done so, our focus will return to you.”
    By the intrigued yet cautious look on her face, he knew his expression was full of
    dark promise, and fought to restrain himself.
    “I’d like to see what you’re doing,” she said, her face coloring prettily as she quickly wiped his seed from her thighs.
    He smiled. It pleased him inordinately that she was interested in the workings of
    the ship. That she wanted to remain by his side a little longer. “By all means.”
    His hand on the small of her back, Andros led her out to the control room. She
    gasped as the panel opened on one side of the room to reveal the clear shield allowing an unobstructed view into space.
    Leikos was already seated at his controls. “I’m retrieving an image scan of the
    approaching spacecraft.”
    “Good,” he said, striding over to his control station and taking a seat. “Chair,” he
    barked out, and Zafron retrieved a spare seat for Natalie before returning to his station.
    She sat down gracefully. He couldn’t help but glance over at her, taking in the hint of her femininity peeking from underneath her short tunic.
    By severn, he was grateful for the simplicity of the wardrobe traditionally worn by
    Spygian mates. Such dress allowed each of Natalie’s mates easy access to worship her
    lush figure. But she would only dress this way when in the presence of him and his
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    brothers, of course. Just the thought of another male greedily taking in his female’s assets made him feel violent. He would never allow such a thing.
    Leikos’ taut voice broke through his reverie. “It appears to be a Malucon ship,
    Andros.”
    The atmosphere grew tense. “A Malucon ship this far out,” Andros said finally, his
    tone relaying a sense of calm he did not feel. “It’s too much of a coincidence that its presence here would not be related to our own. Activate the hyperdrive, Zafron. Get us out of here.”
    He prayed that they had spotted the ship quickly enough that it would not be able
    to follow and overtake them.
    “Wait a second,” Natalie protested. “You’re leaving now? I don’t know ab—”
    “I’m sorry, Natalie,” Andros said, as Zafron took the ship into hyperdrive. “You
    have already made your decision. There is no going back now. And we cannot tarry. It
    would not be wise to engage the Malucons. Not when we are so far from our own
    planet.”
    “What are Malucons?” she asked, the unfamiliar word tripping on her tongue.
    “Maluco is a planet on the outer rim of the galaxy. It’s technologically advanced,
    but its inhabitants are overly aggressive as a whole, and beyond greedy. Several years ago they decided to expand and began invading other planets, the weaker ones that
    were not able to withstand attack. So far they have overtaken several planets, taking delight in decimating the inhabitants.”
    She looked both concerned and horrified. “Not your planet,