Free Celestial Beauty by Angela Castle

they should be paying the
Jorval to rescue these human females.
    Zeb scratched his chin and moved to walk down the
corridor. The females of Galafrax were pampered and selfish creatures. It could
be a good thing that they now had human females living among them, to
demonstrate a selfless behaviour, to teach consideration and kindness. With
each step the desire to keep Celeste grew. He wanted to win her trust, show her
that she mattered, not just in their eyes but her own. A growl rumbled from his
throat as his mind turned towards his brothers and how they’d almost fucked it
up, by moving in on her too fast.
    He wasn’t too proud to admit that he’s been a blind
fool, letting his prejudice stand in the way of an opportunity to have
something wonderful. Any set of quads who encountered Celeste could see she was
indeed something special and would snap her up in a heartbeat, so why not them?
    The pace of his steps grew as he stormed through the
ship in search of the idiots he called his brothers.
    Countless, dangerous missions had they been on, deadly
situations where their lives hung in the balance. They were smart, decisive,
and always knew how to stay calm under pressure. Put one little human female
amidst them and it seemed they’d all lost their common sense, even at their
advanced age.
    He could admit that he had been wrong. To even compare
Celeste to the last female in their lives—Zeb stopped at that rampant thought,
now pounding in the back of his brain, and he felt close to losing it as his
brother had. Their female .
    Had all the other quads felt like this, upon meeting
their sheraz ? Such a powerful pull,
the sudden need to protect her, soothe all her wounds and make her happy for
the rest of their natural lives.
    All too easily his thoughts again turned carnal.
Desire like a slow burning fire grew. His body began to throb, and he tried not
to think of the sudden urged to map out every curve, dip and hollow of her
soft, delicate body, have her lips puff from slight bruises of his dominating
mouth, after he’d thoroughly kissed her.
    He stopped short, realizing he had no idea how to
pleasure a human female. If the rumours were true, it would be a lot easier
than pleasuring a Demos female. Damn the
ice plains . He’d have to find those reports on humans again and study. The
last thing he or any of his brothers wanted was hurt to her.
    He shook his head. One thing at a time, and the first
thing on his mind was to pull his stupid brothers back into line.
    ****
    A door slid open on his right, and Loc walked absently
his gaze fixed on a data pad. Zeb grabbed his younger brother’s top, bringing
him to a sharp halt. Loc reacted, ready to defend himself, but stopped himself
seeing it was Zeb. His eyes gleamed with an indignant “what the fuck”?
    “ Meal room, now! And tell the others, it’s time for a
fucking family meeting. That’s not a request, it’s a fucking order, got it,
soldier?”
    Loc’s eyes narrowed on him. Angered at being handled
so roughly, he shoved back from Zeb, before Loc glanced around.
    “ Where’s—”
    “ She is back in Kue’s cabin, resting. I brought her
back inside after finding her outside, alone and unguarded.”
    Clear worry instantly replaced Loc’s indignation.
    “ I’m in no mood to play games, Loc. Get the others
together now.”
    “ It’s about Celeste—is she all right?”
    “ No, it’s about the fucking rocks on this damn planet.”
    Loc rolled his eyes, but moved to comply. “Keep your
damn boots on, gheesh .” Loc marched
away, scowling.
    Satisfied his orders were being carried out, Zeb made
his way back to the meal room, ordering a drink from the food modulator before
sitting down to wait.
    It wasn’t long before the footfalls of all his
brothers could be heard, just before the door slid open. Raz glared at him as
he entered first, then marched up to stand over Zeb. The other two entered and
stood back waiting with pensive frowns.
    “ If you’ve done