Page 28 of Twin Warriors

He watched as Lace guided Amy back into the compound and out of sight. Pain ripped through his heart that their mate had rejected them. That she didn’t accept their bond. It was worse than any pain he had ever felt in his long, lonely life.

Chapter Nine

Amy entered Iron’s office and waited for the huge alien cyborg that had escorted her here to leave and close the door. Iron looked up from the metal desk that now had a holographic image of the desert hovering above it.

“Amy? Is everything alright?”

“I want to leave.” she demanded, trying to hide the panic that was racing through her body.

“Why? Has something happened?”

“You promised me that I would be able to return to my cave. I want to go, now!”

Iron rose to his feet, swiping a hand over the table to close the hologram. He moved around the table to her and paused in front of his desk, leaning back against it.

“Tell me what happened,” he ordered in a voice that left no doubt in Amy’s mind that this man was in command.

“I can’t do this. I can’t stay here. I have to get back.”

“Why can you not stay? What is it that is pulling you back to the forest?”

“None of your business.”

He frowned. “It is my business, Amy. As the mate of two of my best warriors, you are now a vital part of the Iron family. It is our duty to keep you safe and ensure you are happy.”

“If you want me to be happy, then take me back.”

Amy felt so torn inside. She wanted to stay here with the two men that had shocked her with the kiss in the garden. Never in a million years would she have thought she would find herself the middle in a hot, sexy, alien cyborg sandwich. She had nothing against threesomes. Never having taken part in such activities before, she had no way of knowing if it would work or not. But the way they both looked at her had her thinking that it would be different with these two. There wasn’t so much as a hint of jealousy between them at all. In fact, if she had to make an educated guess, judging by the bulges in their pants, they seemed to like the idea of sharing her.

But she didn’t know them at all. She had her own life, her own strange little family she needed to get back to. If she let herself get lost in the idea of a life with Cane and Cole, she would never have the strength to leave them again. She needed to end it now, before her feelings got even more out of control.

Iron hesitated before he answered. He watched her for a long moment before he spoke again.

“Are you refusing their claim?”

His question took her by surprise. She had no idea what she was doing, all she knew was that she needed to get back to her life and figure out what to do next. Yet, the idea of refusing Cane and Cole’s affection towards her had bile rising in her throat. No, she wasn’t refusing it. She just needed time to think. Time away from them to see if it helped get her thoughts in order.

“No,” she whispered, lowering her gaze to the ground.

“Then why do you wish to run from them?”

“I need to think, Iron. I need to… I…” Tears welled in her eyes, her throat closing as she tried to get her own rattled brain to work.

“When I found my mate I was filled with so many confusing emotions that I too ran from it,” Iron said, making her look up at him.

“You did?”

He smiled. “Yes. The chemical reaction that happens inside your body and mind can be overwhelming. I had no idea what to do. I had a responsibility to my people, to my commander and to the warriors that served beneath me. I had no time for a mate. I spent years on board a ship, far from my home. Yet, even so, I could not fight what I felt for Ice. She became my whole world in a matter of hours. I was lost, afraid and in pain when I left. I couldn’t think, couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t sleep…”

“How did you meet her?”

“I was summoned to the command center for a briefing after a battle with our people’s enemy. When I arrived, I was told to sit outside the council chambers and wait to be summoned. That is when the most beautiful female I had ever laid eyes on sat down beside me and brushed her hand over mine by accident. It was instant. We both felt it. We knew exactly what it was, yet we both tried to deny it.”

“What happened?”

“I left the planet after the briefing. I told myself that I needed to complete my duties to the command before I could focus on my own personal needs. It didn’t go as well as I planned. Ice found me. She was the communications officer on another vessel. We spoke for endless hours every day, getting to know each other while we did our duty for the command. Finally, when we were granted time to be together, we met again and sealed our bond. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving her again. Not for a second. So, we decided to leave the military and settle on a faraway planet where we could start a new life together.”

“Here,” Amy said, nodding.