Talon opened his eyes blearily and looked around, wincing at the harsh glare of the light above him. He turned his head slightly, looked around the room, and realized that he lay on a very soft bed. The room was painted and furnished in soft golds and greens. Talon instantly felt at ease, not only by the colors but also the inexplicable presence of someone in the room with him. It didn’t make any sense because Josie knew not to enter his guest quarters when they were given rooms to crash in by their customers. He sighed and closed his eyes to return to sleep before his brain clicked into gear. He was on Tumaro, his shuttle had crashed, Josie had been with him… Josie!
“J-J-Josie?” Talon’s voice croaked out anxiously. Clearing his throat, he raised his voice and tried to sit up in bed, but he seemed incapable of doing so. “Josie!”
The doors to the room flew open, and Talon found himself blinking up at the massive hulking frame of a man that rushed into the room. He shrank back slightly in fear.
“Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
Talon’s brain effectively shut down again, and he let his gaze rove over the man’s features. The man stood tall, really tall, and gorgeous, with long black hair. While his skin was more tanned than Talon’s, it was still paler than that of other Tumarons Talon had met before. But it was his eyes, the lightest blue eyes Talon had ever seen, eyes that held kindness, pain, and a sort of ruthless determination that eased the fear trying to claw its way out of Talon’s stomach. He felt himself relax, and time seemed to restart. Talon hadn’t even realized everything around him had seemed to grow hazy and slow down until they became clearer and returned to normal.
Shaking himself out of his reverie, Talon asked, “J-Josie… my sister, where is she? She was with me on the shuttle. Where is she?” Reaching out his hands, he grabbed onto the front of the man’s gray shirt and held on tightly.
What if Josie was dead? What if she was alive and looking for him? What if the Tumarons had found Josie and made her their slave, and they were about to do the same thing to him? What if he never saw his sister again? Talon looked around the room frantically. Whereas before he’d thought he’d been laying in a bedroom, he now realized he was lying in a clinic. He began to panic, his breath coming faster as he imagined all of the horrible things that could have happened to Josie while he’d been here, apparently being taken care of.
The big man frowned and sat down on the bed beside Talon in an obvious attempt to calm him down. Talon noticed and appreciated the look of concern on the other man’s face, but he was desperate to find his sister.
“There was no woman when we found you, beauty. At least not one we could see,” the man stated, his voice low and full of confusion, but with a slight measure of hesitation, almost as if he were afraid to say something.
Talon felt his brain pause momentarily at the endearment, but then the other man’s words sank in. “What?! No-No-No! No, you have to be wrong! She was sitting in the seat next to mine. She was there! You have to go find her! You have to go and find my sister! Josie! Josie!” Talon was frantic. He sat up swiftly, swaying a bit and pushing away the mysterious man who seemed determined to try to make him lay back down in the bed. “Let me go! I have to go and find my sister! Josie!” He screamed. He tried to race for the door, stumbling along the way, which swung open in front of him, causing him to barrel into a very wide, very firm chest.
“Whoa, there. Where are you running off to?”
The chest spoke, and Talon felt his entire body flush. He wanted to wrap his arms around the body before him, wanted to wrap his legs around the bigger man’s waist and never let go. Talon lifted his gaze up past the thick, muscled, and tanned neck to the square jaw, dusted faintly with a dark, five o’clock shadow, to the aquiline nose that spoke of an aristocratic heritage, to a pair of the most gorgeous dark blue eyes that Talon had ever seen. They were almost startling in their intensity. Add to that the long black hair that hung to just below broad shoulders and an awe-inspiring, overly large frame. The stranger was a walking wet dream come true. Talon quickly reconsidered when the man growled low and clutched him fiercely before burying his face in Talon’s neck. Talon squeaked in surprise but did not pull away. He felt safe in this man’s arms, even though he didn’t know his name. He never wanted to let go.
Talon felt the world spin when the man in question quickly jerked Talon behind him and growled “Mine” at the other man in the room. His voice was low, forceful, growly, and full of authority and power. Talon knew this man was not one to be messed with. He was the law in that room at that moment. Talon was happy the man seemed to be on his side, even if he wasn’t exactly sure why.
“Blazell? Are you saying that this… humanoid… is your mate?” the first man asked incredulously.
The man named Blazell turned to look at Talon, his eyes softening rapidly and a slow smile coming to his face. He inhaled deeply, breathing in Talon’s scent, his eyes closing before he turned back to answer the question. “Yes, Buck, he’s mine… my mate.”
Talon’s eyes widened, another squeak escaping at the word mate. His mother’s words about how he would feel upon meeting the person destined for him rushed back to his mind. He stepped away from Blazell and backed into the door behind him. His eyes widened, and his body quivered. Blazell turned to look at him, eyebrows raised in question. Talon fought with himself internally. He desperately wanted to throw himself into this man’s arms and ask the man to protect him, to hold him… to fuck him and then never let him go. He’d spent most of the last five years trying to not find his mate, and now to find him because of an accident?
“Fucking shit balls,” he breathed. “Hell no,” he said to both men, shaking his head no quite forcefully before he slipped back into unconsciousness.