Casey's Warriors (Bondmates) (28 page)

Lorn sighed and shook his head. “Nast, it is all right.”

“No, it is not. You are about to bond Casey and I have no right touching you without her permission.” Panic seized him at the thought of never meeting the woman the Lord of Life had created for him to share with Lorn, but he ruthlessly pushed it back. “I will not risk her turning you away, not now.”

Lorn closed the distance between them and placed his hands on Nast’s shoulders. “Casey and I had a long talk, well as long as we could have when she demanded that we bond as soon as possible. She does not understand our ways, but she is willing to try. After the bonding ceremony, and after what she calls our honeymoon, she wants to meet you and two other men that I want her to partially bond with.”

Elation filled Nast but he tried to hold it back. If it didn’t mean what he thought it did he was afraid it would crush his heart. “Does she…is she willing to consider me as more than a partial bond? As a husband?”

“She is, but you need to know you will have a hard road to win her love. Casey has a generous heart, but loving you will go against everything she was raised to believe. I have no doubt she will eventually see we belong together, but you must go slow with her. It will be torture for you not to go after her with everything you have, but believe me when I say she is worth the wait.”

Nast closed his eyes, afraid if he looked at Lorn any longer the tears that were trying to escape would fall free. He never cried—it was simply something a Warrior did not do, an unacceptable weakness—but damned if he didn’t struggle with the stinging pain of tears threatening to break free. It wasn’t sorrow, but a relief so profound he had no words to describe it. All hope was not lost. Casey would not banish him or worse, leave Lorn like those other Earth brides had left their potential bondmates when faced with the reality of Kadothian life.

“What is she like?” he whispered as he kept his eyes closed and struggled with himself.

“She is kind, compassionate, and has a good sense of humor. Though this is all new and no doubt frightening, she has faced it with the courage of a Warrior. And smart, so smart. Her thirst for knowledge will make her a formidable Matriarch.”

“Do you…” he took a deep breath as his voice faltered, “do you think she will like me?”

“No, Nast, she will love you with everything she is and everything she has because that is who she is. She will fill every empty space in your soul, surround your with warmth until you will question how you ever lived without her.” Lorn’s soft exhale stirred the hair against his neck and he rested his head on his blood brother’s shoulder. “She is not like other Earth women who let fear rule them, Nast. She will not run from me just because she does not understand. I can feel your worry and it is unfounded. Have faith our love was meant to be because it is.”

When he opened his eyes again he found Lorn giving him an understanding look that made those fucking tears want to fall. He cleared his throat and gave Lorn a gentle shove. “Come on, you have a bonding ceremony to attend.”

Laughing, Lorn grabbed his cloak and tossed it to Nast. “Help me put this thing on.”

Nast shook out the crimson-lined, black silk cloak and grinned. “How are you holding up?”

“Nervous as a virgin before the first ritual of pleasure.”

“Can you feel Casey? How is she?”

Lorn’s gaze went distant for a moment and Nast envied him his ability to talk to their
alyah
. He was going to do everything he could to make sure she knew how good things would be between them once they were together. Even if Lorn had never been born Nast would have loved her because he was made to love her and she was made to love him. The relief continued to spread through him, chasing back the deadening of emotions that was the hallmark of the madness. On the trip out here he’d felt as if he was trapped in a block of ice, only anger and fear giving him any sense of living. With all of his might he had hung on, promising himself he would see Lorn one more time before he turned himself in to be taken to one of the prison moons.

Nast had been so sure, so positive that Casey would reject him after listening to all the tales of rejected Kadothian men that he wasn’t sure how to even deal with the onslaught of emotions bombarding him. He was still trying to wrap his head around the concept of not losing himself to the madness while he attached the cloak to the hidden fastenings on Lorn’s armor. Once it was secured he give Lorn a firm thump on his shoulders and smiled at him, savoring the pride and happiness for his friend now filling his barren soul.

A trickle of lust came from Lorn and his friend turned to him with a wide smile. “Casey has her shields down and I can feel her soul. She is happy—apprehensive but very, very happy.”

Malin stepped into the room and smiled. “Warriors, if you will, it is time for the bonding ceremony to begin.”

Grabbing Nast in a fierce hug Lorn whispered against his neck, “Soon it will be your turn.”

“Lord of Life willing, my blood brother, Lord of Life willing.”

Chapter Thirteen

Jaz gave Casey a huge smile in the vast set of mirrors, the soft golden tones of the sumptuous dressing room complimenting her dark skin. “Okay, so it may not be the big white dress that you always dreamed of, but you gotta admit, it’s pretty awesome.”

Unable to speak for fear of tearing up and ruining her makeup, though she was pretty sure nothing could make the alien cosmetics smear, Casey took a hesitant step toward the full length mirror and let out a soft sigh. “I wish my mom was here.”

As she gazed into the mirror she could scarcely recognize herself. She looked like a princess out of some fantasy movie. Turning in the flattering lighting surrounding the enormous angled mirrors she tipped her head slightly and watched the fire of the gems in her dark hair flair to life. Jaz had done her makeup so well that her skin looked flawless and her deep brown eyes had been rimmed with black liner so they appeared even bigger than usual. Add to that the crimson red lipstick and she actually felt confident enough to walk out in front of a huge crowd for her bonding ceremony. It certainly helped she was barely aware of her surroundings now, choosing instead to keep her bond open and basking in Lorn’s love. Her heart was overflowing with his affection and she knew he felt hers in return because an occasional burst of male pride would come from him followed by lust. She had no idea what he was doing right now, but he was overjoyed about something.

Turning in the mirror, she examined herself critically, wanting Lorn to be proud of her. The gown itself was a pretty standard A-line design made of a shimmering crimson material. The neck plunged far enough that she was afraid her nipples might show if she sneezed, but she had to admit the hidden supports constructed within the gown gave her pretty rocking cleavage.

According to Jaz, once the ceremony was completed some kind of mark would appear on her lower chest above her heart and over the top of her breast. It wasn’t a tattoo, it was more like a magical mark that would brand her. Casey had laughed at first, but then had to admit it was kind of cool that when the Kadothian’s God, the Lord of Life, blessed a union something actually happened.  For Jaz her mark was elegant black scrollwork in a circular pattern that went over her left and right breast because she had two husbands, but she said each woman was different. Some women had five husbands yet had only a small mark between their breasts, while others only had two yet ended up with a massive design spreading from shoulder to shoulder. If Casey ever decided to take another husband, something she was still trying to come to terms with, that mark would be added to at her second bonding ceremony.

While the dress was almost plain, the feathered cloak fastened to the shoulders of the gown was spectacular. A cape of the most amazing mass of carefully layered feathers in shades of red, orange, gold and browns, flowed out behind her in a burning waterfall of exquisite design. It extended a full five feet and some of the feathers were as long as her arm. They gleamed with every breath she took and looked almost like fire, as if they were made from the feathers of the mythical Phoenix.

Blinking back tears, Jaz gave her a hug. “Honey, I totally understand about wishing your mom could be here. I almost called the whole thing off when I found out my family couldn’t attend, but then I realized that at the end of the day the only thing that really mattered was me and my men. Hell, people run off and elope all the time back on Earth, then move far away from the families. And didn’t the Good Book say something about cleaving unto your husband?”

Smoothing her hand over an ultra-soft, deep gold and burnt orange-tipped feather Casey sighed. “Believe me, I would go through Hell if I knew Lorn was waiting for me at the other side; it’s just hard. When I was a little girl I always imagined my wedding with my dad walking me down the aisle and my mom crying in the front row while my bridesmaids checked out which groomsman they’d flirt with at the reception. I wanted to get married at the Detroit Zoo like one of my aunts and my girlfriends and I spent a lot of time talking about what our weddings would be like. Never thought it would be on a spaceship.”

“Well, it may not be like you imagined, but sometimes reality is even more amazing.” Jaz fussed with Casey’s hair, swept up in a riot of curls and secured with those beautiful red jewels.

“True.”

Casey almost bit her lower lip before catching herself. “Jaz, can I ask you a personal question?”

“Sure.”

“When…when you were first with both of your husbands did it…did they…that is on your honeymoon….did they do…stuff? Together?”

Jaz gave her a grin filled with pure sin in the mirror. “Did they get it on?”

Heat raced through her and she tried to ignore the bright flush turning her image almost as red as her dress. “Yeah.”

“They did.”

“Did you get jealous?”

“For about half of a second. Before we all were together, like
together
together, I’d already had sex with my second husband. They were afraid of telling me that they loved each other, but I knew. How could I not? I felt their love as clearly as I felt my own and when you’re surrounded by the love of not just one amazing man, but two, it’s the best thing ever. Then to add their feelings for each other on top of that and I swear I’m the happiest woman in the universe.”

Unnecessarily smoothing her dress, Casey let out a slow breath. “I just don’t understand how Lorn could share me without getting jealous. I know he says he won’t get pissed, but it just doesn’t make sense.”

“That’s because you’ve only grown up around insecure men.” Jaz stroked her cleavage where her bondmark gleamed against her dark skin. “You need to stop thinking about Kadothian men like Earth men. They may look similar, but the way they feel and think is entirely different. Trust me when I say there is nothing in the world more erotic to Lorn than the thought of you being with Nast.”

“You know Nast?”

“Yep.”

Trying to appear composed, but wanting to put Jaz in a chokehold until she told Casey what she wanted to know, she went over to the small table holding a beautiful crystal pitcher and poured herself a drink of some kind of juice that burst over her tongue in an explosion of amazing flavors. “How do you know him?”

“My husbands served under him. I’ve never actually met him but there is a picture of him with my husbands at some kind of military awards ceremony.”

Casey turned and gave a smirking Jaz a narrow eyed look. “Details woman, I want details!”

“Well, he is incredibly handsome, but I haven’t met a single Kadothian man who isn’t. I will say he has some of the prettiest hair I’ve ever seen, blond with streaks of pure burning red that my husbands assure me is natural. Hmm, what else? He’s something of a legend among his troops and some of the stories they told me about the battles he was in sound like fables, but my husbands swear they are true. Oh, and evidently Nast was born into what passes for poverty on their planet to a family of traitors.”

“What?”

“Yeah, his mother tried to assassinate Lorn’s mother.” She frowned. “Maybe I shouldn’t be telling you this.”

“No, please, I need to know. Was Nast involved?”

“Not at all. Nast and Lorn have been blood brothers for a long time and are totally devoted to each other just like my husbands are. It was Nast who took the laser blast meant for Lorn’s mother.”

“Wow.”

“I know. So yeah, my husbands kind of worship him. You know how my guys are Healers, right?”

Casey nodded, remembering a conversation she had with Lorn about the different armor colors. “Yes. They’re high ranking because they have silver etching on their armor. Lorn’s started to explain the Kadothian military to me.”

“Right. Well they say Nast and Lorn are two of the best men they’ve ever served under. That they would be dead a thousand times over if not for your bondmates. I mean your bondmate and your potential bondmate.”

After taking a sip of her juice Casey moved back to the mirror. Looking herself in the eye she said, “What if I can’t love him, Jaz?”

“You’re worrying too much.” Jaz gave her a quick hug, careful not to mess up her outfit. “Sometimes you just have to have faith. I know it’s especially hard for us because we come from a place where people lie to each other all the time and the only happily ever after comes from fairy tales, but we’re not on Earth anymore. We have the incredible luck, or as I believe, the divine blessing of having the chance to not only find personal happiness, but to make a difference in trillions of people’s lives.”

“Trillions?”

“The Bel’Tan galaxy is pretty big.” She grinned. “Hell, Kadothia is twice the size of our sun.”

“Wow.”

“I know.” Jaz’s dark eyes sparkled. “Imagine the kind of adventures we’ll have exploring their world, the things we’ll experience. And the best part is we’ll have those experiences with our soul mates. It doesn’t get much better than that. Sure as shit beats the hell out of working at a shitty fast food restaurant while saving up for college.”