Enthralled (The Spider's Mate, #2)

by Tiffany Roberts

He would fill her until she could take no more—and then he would give more all the same.

He could not hide, but he was not alone.

“You sure? That web was looking pretty thin in some spots.” “You are welcome to spin fresh strands to repair it, my nyleea.” “Sorry. Humans don’t spit webs out of our butts.” “A flaw I will overlook considering how good a handhold your butt makes,” Ketahn said, dropping a hand to her backside and squeezing the plump, rounded flesh.

Despite the uncertainties awaiting him, Ketahn smiled. He hoped it was not foolish to imagine a day in the near future when more vrix knew what a smile was and what it meant. He hoped it was not foolish to long for a day when more vrix would have reason to regularly wear such expressions.

Guess I prefer my males with multiple sets of limbs and eyes.

His mandibles drooped, and he hooked his thumb under her chin, grazing her skin with a claw. “You say I am not scary. I am sexy.” Ivy’s skin flushed. “Um, yeah. To me.”

“Are you all seriously going to ignore the fact that she’s fucking that thing? It’s a damn spider!” “Not spider,” Ketahn growled, leaning toward Cole with his mandibles flaring. “Vrix.”

“I do not want to scare,” he said with gentleness in his deep voice, “only to protect. Ivy is my mate. You are her kind. So you are my kind, too.”

Stopping with a few feet between herself and the other vrix, Ivy lifted her hands, turning her palms up. “You can touch me.” “Remember that she is my mate,” Ketahn growled from behind her. Ivy’s lips stretched into a grin. She found she quite liked his jealousy.

“Soft, too,” he continued. “And it is nice to meet someone with fewer arms than me for once.”

😭

Ketahn stepped into place behind Ivy, placing one pair of hands on her shoulders and the other on her hips.

He would not betray his mate. Not for Zurvashi or anyone else. Not even to save his own life.

“That is not your fault, my nyleea. You did not lead me to the queen’s cruelty. Her cruelty led me to you.”

“Even had I known what would come, I would change nothing. I would choose to wake you. I would choose to take you as mine.

“Our heartsthreads, our spirits, are all that matter, and they are bound. Fate brought me to you, my heartsthread, and even if it tried to turn me away, I would defy it. Nothing will come between us. So long as the sun, moons, and stars make their treks across the sky, you will be mine, Ivy.”

Perfect. Meeting my sister-in-law with cum running down my leg.

Ahnset’s mandibles twitched as though with uncertainty, and then fell. A soft trill sounded in her chest. She closed her eyes and released a long, shallow breath. “It…has been too long since I have had a sister. I am glad to call you one now, Ay-vee.”

Ivy chuckled. “He’s kind of a smart ass.” Ketahn snapped his gaze to Ivy and clicked his mandible fangs together. “I told you do not call me what poop comes from, female.”

Ketahn smiled. “We can hug you in silk cocoons so you feel safe as we climb.” Callie’s dark eyes flared wide. “You’re kidding. Please tell me you’re kidding.” Diego chuckled and grinned. “Guess we’re ending up as spider food after all.” “Not spider,” Ketahn corrected. “Vrix.” His clarification didn’t seem to offer the humans any comfort.

It would take time to adjust to this, but it felt good to have his friends with him again. It felt good to have a group formed around him and Ivy. To have…a tribe.

“Fuck,” Cole spat. Despite everything, Ketahn couldn’t help but admire the versatility of that word.

But sometimes suffering was necessary to win peace, to create security, and to earn those quiet, intimate moments.

Ketahn couldn’t help chittering when she came to him during one of those stops and said, “You do realize I have no idea which way to go either, don’t you? I’d get us lost.” “How could that be?” He lifted a hand, brushing his knuckles gently down her cheek. “So long as I am with you, my heartsthread, I can never be lost.”

Ahnset tipped one of her bent legs toward Ella, brushing it against the human’s arm. Ella’s smile grew, and she leaned her head on Ahnset’s leg, closing her eyes.

“I know them enough to understand that Ella”—she jabbed a finger in the direction of the pit—“does not deserve this slow death. She requires aid.” Ketahn held his ground. “And we are giving all we can to her.” “If there is more that can be done, we must do it.”

i love you my lesbian spider alien

“I can see why you care for him. I’ve seen how protective he is of you, the way he looks at you, cares for you. I guess deep down, we’re all the same. Our souls see what our eyes can’t, and they connect no matter what’s on the outside. Our bodies…they’re just shells.”

“You make it sound like we’re soulmates,” Ivy said. “Maybe you are. How else could you have found each other?” “All it took was a trip through space and one hundred and sixty-eight years.” Ivy grinned. “And well…he was pretty much the first guy to come around, and a woman has…needs.”