Where There is Hope [Taos Wolven Mates 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Tianna Xander Page A

made her think of things other than food.
    Hope wanted to feel their callused hands sliding over her skin. She wanted them to skim their fingers over her body while she did the same to them. Closing her eyes, she wondered when she had changed her mind. How had these two convinced her that she needed to feel them both inside her more than she wanted to go back home?
    Would it really be so bad to accept what they told her? After all, she had nothing but loneliness awaiting her back home. Hope’s only worry was that her trust might end up killing her. With her medical issues, she had no business out here without her medication traipsing around with two men she didn’t know.
    However, she had to admit that she felt better now than she had in ages. Was there some truth to what Joran and Braxton told her about their unbelievable ship healing her?
    She rested her hand over her lower stomach and wished it were so. What would it feel like to take the risk of getting pregnant? She gave the two men a sideways glance and wondered what a child from one of them would look like. Surely, if it was a girl she would be beautiful, and if it was a boy, he would be just as handsome as his father.
    Heat pooled low as she thought about what it would be like to throw caution to the wind and attempt to make a life here with these two men, wherever or whenever here was.
    “You know what I like,” Braxton said to Joran as he walked over to a table and sat down. The expression on his face was unreadable and Hope wondered what they were up to.
    Joran took her to a cabinet set against a wall. It had glass doors, like a modern hutch but looked more like a microwave than a cupboard.
    “Carella, Braxton would like a plate of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy with a side of green beans.”
    When a full plate appeared before Hope’s eyes, she gasped. Grabbing Joran’s arm, she was glad for his support. Her legs almost gave out. “How…how did that just appear there?”
    “You must tell me what you want and I will prepare it for you.”
    She jumped back at the sound of the female voice that had come from somewhere around the unit. She didn’t know where the operator was, but it was obvious the woman could see her. “How does it just appear the way it does, and so quickly?”
    “The food is prepared from proteins, fibers, and minerals found in the average human diet. It is formulated to look, taste, and feel like whatever food it is that you would like by the stored energy on this ship. All of this happens simultaneously and the fare is transported through this device to you on a plate with utensils, ready to eat.”
    “Oh.” Hope was afraid to ask what kind of proteins and stuff went into the food. “Does that mean I can ask you for anything?”
    “You may ask. However, I can only prepare items that have been programmed into my database. If no one has brought a sample aboard, or I have not found it in an electronic library somewhere, I will have no frame of reference.”
    “That makes sense.” Hope bit her lip, torn between her usual meager dieter’s fare and a cheeseburger with a side of chili fries. “What the heck. I’ll order something, and if you can’t make it, I’ll assume I’m supposed to stay on my low-fat diet.” She smiled as she thought of the one really fattening item she normally wouldn’t order at home. “Carella…that is your name, isn’t it?”
    “Yes, Hopeful. That is my name.”
    Hope cringed at the use of her full name. “Do you know how to make a Philly cheesesteak and waffle fries?” Hope figured that since she was going for fatty foods, she may as well go for the gold and get something she hadn’t had in years.
    A full plate appeared before her with a beautiful greasy-looking cheesesteak sandwich with a side of waffle fries. Hope stared at the plate for a minute before she reached out to touch it. It was really there. It wasn’t as though it was some sort of optical illusion. With a grin, she