Bakra Bride (11 page)

Easing the door open, she slipped out into the hallway. Emotions swamped her. She couldn’t believe she’d had the nerve to do what she’d just done. She was just glad that it had turned out for the best—the alternative would have been devastating. Leaning against the cool stone wall, she felt her body sliding towards the floor as her legs finally buckled out from under her.

Her bottom never touched the ground. Strong arms grasped her, pulling her back up even as they tugged her close to a massive chest. She needed the comfort and the warmth, and she twined her arms around his waist, burrowing closer. She didn’t have to look up to know who held her.

The door behind her opened almost silently and she could sense Zaren staring into the room beyond. Raising her head, she could still see Garrik with his head buried against his brother’s chest while Jarmon’s injured hand held him close. Zaren quietly closed the door again, leaving them in privacy.

“Thank you, Jane.”

“I didn’t really do anything,” she confessed. After all, there was no proof that Jarmon wouldn’t have recovered on his own.

“Yes, you did.” Zaren’s grip tightened on her as he sighed. “You have made my life harder by being so giving and brave and valiant.”

“Goodness, all of that?” Her attempt at a joke to lighten the mood fell flat.

“Aye. All that and more.” He stood there in the hallway, supporting her with one arm, seemingly in no hurry to go anywhere. With his free hand, he rubbed her back soothingly. “Your very generosity of spirit shames me.” He laughed. “I thought that I could keep you here with us, with me, and not give you a choice. But there are choices and you must know them.”

He was beginning to scare her a little. “What choices? What do I need to know?”

Zaren bent and slipped an arm under her leg, lifted her high and began to carry her down the hall. “You need to know things I cannot bring myself to tell you. But I will take you to someone who can.”

He fell silent then as he carried her into what looked like a large sitting room. Both his mother and Christina were there. He nodded at them but otherwise ignored them as he lowered Jane onto a padded chair. Going down on one knee in front of her, he clasped her hands in his, lowered his head and kissed each of her knuckles in turn. “Remember how much we need you.”

Springing to his feet, he stalked from the room without so much as a backward glance. He didn’t even close the door behind him in his haste to be away. It left Jane feeling bereft, confused and afraid.

She turned to the other women, almost cringing at the looks of sympathy they were both giving her. Everyone else around her seemed to know more than she did and it was time for that to change. Knowledge was power and it was time for her to empower herself.

Narrowing her eyes, she tilted her chin and stared back at the other women. She didn’t need anyone’s pity. What she needed was information. Squaring her shoulders, she clasped her hands in her lap. “It’s time to talk.” They both nodded slowly and the older woman smiled at her. “Tell me everything.” Sitting forward in her chair, Jane waited for them to begin.

Jane slumped back into her chair, stunned by what Christina had just finished telling her. Neither of the other women spoke as Jane tried to assimilate everything she’d just been told. Licking her suddenly dry lips, she sucked in a breath.

“Okay. Let me see if I understand this. The tapestry is magic, which I already figured out on my own. And it travels through time and space looking for women from our world who have no family and life in their own time.”

“Yes,” Christina said.

“In other words it looks for losers,” Jane scoffed. Just when she thought she might be special.

Christina’s unrestrained laughter took her by surprise. The other woman doubled over and laughed until tears seeped from her eyes. Jane didn’t quite know what to make of her reaction. Christina swiped at her eyes and gasped out, “That’s exactly the same thing I said.”

Her humor was infectious and Jane chuckled. “Well, I was hoping it was because I was special.”

“You are special.” Zaren’s mother finally spoke. The older woman had been strangely quiet throughout Christina’s explanation. “The tapestry seeks a woman who can not only survive but thrive here in our world and with our customs.”

Jane couldn’t stop the blush she knew was creeping up her face. Her cheeks felt as if they were burning, they were so hot. The older woman just smiled at her. “Jane. May I call you Jane?” When Jane nodded, she continued. “And you must call me Olena.” She stood and began to pace. “I know that our world must seem strange to you, but you must not feel badly for being attracted to both my sons.”

Jane groaned and buried her face in her hands. “This is so embarrassing.”

“Why?” Olena stopped by the table and poured a glass of cider from a jug.

“Because you’re their mother, for heaven’s sakes,” Jane spit out.

Olena’s gentle laughter eased her discomfort somewhat as did her words. “Jane, I am a woman first and a mother second. I had a husband and he had a brother as well.” She waited while the implications of that statement sunk in. “When my husband died, his brother and I were a great comfort to one another and we had several happy years before illness claimed him.”

She walked over to Jane, handing her the goblet. Jane grasped it and drank deep. “I don’t know what to do. My life has changed so much in the last months.”

“Tell us,” Olena encouraged as she sat once again. Christina leaned forward and Jane found herself pouring out her entire life story to them.

“So you see,” she took a sip from her glass a long time later, hoping to ease her dry throat, “the night before I came here I had a call from my old boyfriend and a job offer. I have prospects in my life.”

Olena frowned at her as if trying to understand her, and it occurred to Jane that the older woman might not comprehend some of her words. But before Jane could begin to explain, Christina zeroed right in on the truly important question. “But is that what you still want for your life?”

“I don’t know.” She heard the anguish and uncertainty in her own voice. “I thought I would start my own business, but then,” she waved her hand to encompass the room, “then this happened.”

Christina sighed. “Only you can answer that question, but the tapestry will reappear tomorrow night and you will have to make your choice. Life is different here, in some ways better, but in others much harder.” She shook her head, making her long blond hair shimmer. “I miss chocolate and tampons and movies. Simple things really and when it comes down to it, just things. But what have I gained?” she paused. “What I have gained is a love that is unwavering and a place where I am needed and where I can be accepted for who I am.”

Christina smiled at Jane. “That and I never have to pay taxes, I’m not bothered by telemarketers and I no longer worry about dieting because Jarek and Marc think I’m perfect the way I am.”

“But it’s too much, too fast,” Jane whispered.

Christina’s smile faded and her eyes were sympathetic. “It is. Yet there is no choice. The tapestry will reappear and, make no mistake, if you do not make your own choice, it will make one for you. Then you will be forced to live with it. It is better to make up your own mind.”

Olena cleared her throat. “Jane, we have just met, but I can already sense that both Zaren and Bador care deeply for you. And after what happened with Jarmon, I think Garrik is half in love with you. I know for sure that he would lay down his life for you. All my sons would.” She pinned Jane with a glacial gaze very reminiscent of her sons. “To them you are priceless. Think about that as you make your choice.”

Olena sighed deeply. “Forgive an old lady’s interference, but I want my sons’ happiness and health above all things. You will make your own choice. Now, it is time for me to go and see to Jarmon.”

Rising, she started towards the door. Jane stared after her, impressed with the regal way the older lady carried herself. “Thank you,” she called out.

Olena paused at the door. “You will leave soon. If I see you again it will be because you are my daughter-in-law. I pray it is so. But if not, have a good life, Jane Smith.” Then she was gone as she disappeared through the open door.

Jane slumped back into her chair. “What am I to do?”

Zaren stood in the shadows of the hallway and watched his mother walk away. He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop on the women, but he hadn’t wanted to be far from Jane in case she needed him.

He snorted softly under his breath. He couldn’t lie to himself, he was hoping to glean some piece of information about Jane’s former life to help convince her to stay. It was why he hadn’t closed the door behind him when he’d left her.

Although there was no sound, Zaren turned toward an alcove further down the hall. Now that their mother had passed by and was gone from sight, Bador stepped out from where he had concealed himself. Zaren could see the look of disbelief and anger on his brother’s face and knew that it matched his own.

The horror of what Jane had survived had sliced through him like a knife. She could have easily been killed and he would never have met her. The mere thought was almost profane. He could no longer imagine a life without her. The courage with which she’d acted made him proud. His Jane was no frail flower. Yes, she needed to take better care of herself physically, but he now understood why she was so thin and pale.

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. It was too bad he couldn’t travel to where she came from long enough to deal with Richard Trenton. He’d make sure the other man was no longer of any threat to Jane. What would happen to Jane if she went back to her own time and her own world? Who would protect her?

That outcome was unthinkable. He would find a way to keep her here. Safe with him. He took a deep breath and slowly released it. These feelings of possessiveness were entirely new to him and he was having a hard time dealing with them. She might very well choose Bador as her husband. He gritted his teeth at the mere thought. So be it. If that’s what it took to make her stay.

He glanced at his brother and saw the same grim determination etched on his face. It was time to take her back home to Bakra Castle. Time for himself and Bador to bend all their considerable skills to convince Jane to remain with them. Just the thought of the coming night had his cock swelling and pressing against the front of his pants. It was going to be a long and very pleasurable night. Reaching down, he adjusted himself to try and ease the ache and then headed towards the sitting room.

With their heads bent together as they talked earnestly, the two women made a wondrous sight. Christina with her long blond hair and her plump, ripe body, and Jane with her tousled black locks that fell only to her shoulders and her long, lean body. It was a sight to make a man sigh with need and make his pants uncomfortably tight.

Bador crowded in behind him, all but shoving him into the room. They both nodded at Christina before turning to Jane. “It’s time to go home.” Zaren’s voice was harsh and he winced inwardly when she flinched.

“Back to Bakra Castle, you mean?” Jane challenged him. “My home isn’t here and I’ve just found out that I can return to my home if I want to.”

“No. Your home is here.” Zaren knew he should be trying to gently convince her to stay, but the more primitive side of himself was goading him to just take her and claim her. He wanted to toss her on the floor and fuck her until she was screaming her release and couldn’t even think about leaving him.

And that was surely going to convince her to stay. He clenched his hands into fists, trying to regain his control. He’d never had any problem maintaining control until he’d met Jane. What was it about this slender, stubborn woman that aroused every male hormone in his body want to grab her and yell, “MINE!”

Bador pushed passed him and walked to her. “We brought you here so that they could explain things to you and answer all your questions.” He smoothed her hair away from her face with his hands and then cupped her face between them. Bending down, he kissed her softly, gently, carefully.

Zaren ground his teeth in frustration. He should have been the one kissing Jane, but Bador was better at the softer talk that women loved. Zaren was a man of action and right now was not the time for the kind of action he wanted to take. His body burned with the need to join with Jane. He wanted his cock buried deep inside her welcoming body when they both came. He wanted his seed spurting deep inside her, marking her as his.

His breathing was getting harsher and he knew his control was almost shot. “We leave within the hour.” Turning, he strode away even though all he wanted to do was go to Jane and enfold her in his arms.

“Say your goodbyes and meet me out front.” Not giving anyone time to question his orders, he stalked down the hallway to say his farewells to his mother and younger brothers.

The ride back to Bakra Castle was a somber affair. Jane still wasn’t sure what put Zaren in such a foul mood. After all, Jarmon’s condition had made a turn for the better and it looked as if he would make a full recovery given enough time. Garrik and Olena had wished them a safe journey and Jarmon had even managed a weak smile.

Christina had all but begged her to come back and visit if she stayed in Javara. In the short time they’d spent together, Jane felt as if she had met a kindred spirit in the other woman. Jane had never had a good female friend before and was surprised at how much she’d enjoyed just spending the afternoon talking with her even if the subject had been a very serious one. It helped that Christina understood her situation in a way that no one else could.

She’d finally met Jarek’s brother Marc as they were mounting to leave. He was a quiet man with an air of sadness about him even as he smiled at all those around him. But Jane recognized the sadness in him, as she’d felt it herself over the years. In spite of the fact that they had Christina, Marc was still lonely. Jane wondered how it would be for either Zaren or Bador if she chose to stay and wed one of them. How would the other one truly feel?

She’d had many of her questions answered this afternoon, but they, in turn, had only spawned more questions. Sighing, she shifted to a more comfortable position. At least she wasn’t riding a horse this time. There had been no doubt as to how she was travelling home. Her horse had been tethered behind the other two and Zaren had picked her up and all but tossed her on top of his horse before climbing up behind her and hauling her into his arms.