Harry's Sacrifice (19 page)

This was a first step. Letting him know he wasn’t as alone as he probably feared.

Roshin had come to understand fear and realized how it could drive someone to actions they otherwise might not consider. Fear could make people irrational. She’d known it from an outsider’s point of view as she’d been growing up in the Brotherhood, but now she understood those early lessons better than ever.

This, however, was not a time for fear. No, this was a time for love. Love and passion and unutterable pleasure. She knew from their previous encounters that Harry could bring that to her, but she wanted to give something to him this time. She wanted to give him an experience to remember.

She wanted to give him her heart.

He pumped into her, pounding hard as his ardor increased. She was breathless with need, but she wanted this time to be even more special. Roshin had to slow him down. She had to make him notice the momentous things that he could feel if he just extended his empathic senses the tiniest bit.

If she believed in a deity, she’d be praying right now. Hoping her instincts were correct. She really hoped this worked.

“Harry,” she whispered, breathless as he continued to thrust into her. She reached up to cup his cheeks in her hands, drawing his attention, and his gaze, to hers. His pace evened out, the urgency tempered with caution.

“Are you all right?” he seemed compelled to ask. “Am I too rough?”

“No, my love. You could never hurt me physically,” she managed to say on a gasp of breath. The feel of him inside her, rubbing her in all the right places, made it hard to talk, but these things had to be said. “I want you to open up to me. Empathically,” she clarified as he dug into her again. “I want you to feel what I’m feeling. I think you’ve been shielding too much and it’s hurting you.”

Harry’s eyes scrunched up as an amused smile played around the corners of his mouth. He seemed uncertain.

“How do you figure that? How do you even know I’m shielding?” His pace slowed to a gentle glide.

“I think I know you pretty well, Harry. The problem is you don’t know me. You don’t allow yourself to sense my feelings and know what’s in my heart. I think you’re afraid.” She whispered it, not wanting to hurt his feelings or challenge his manhood, but needing to spur him to action. He had to lower his empathic shields.

He stopped altogether. His cock a warm rod within her, heating her from the inside out. She wanted him to continue moving, but this was even more important than the aching need that begged for completion.

“Afraid?”

“Yes. Afraid to know what I really feel. Afraid you’re wrong about my emotional response. Or maybe afraid you’re right? Either way, wouldn’t it be better to know the truth of it? It’s so easy for one of your abilities. All you have to do is open up your empathic sense and find out.” She reached up to kiss his lips gently, just a quick nibble. “If you dare.”

She rested her head back on the mat and watched him, knowing the moment when he came to a decision. She saw it in his eyes. Yet he still hesitated.

“Come on, lover. You can do it,” she encouraged in a hushed whisper.

His eyes dilated the slightest bit, and then she saw something in his expression change. His beloved face tensed, as did his muscled shoulders above her. A split second later, he seemed to relax and then he started moving again within her, his gaze holding hers with an intensity she had never experienced from him before.

He pushed into her welcoming body, fucking her hard and fast, as if no time had lapsed between their earlier frenzy and the present moment. If anything, he was even more frenzied than before.

Harry lowered over her straining body as the climax came close. It was almost upon her when she heard the barest whisper of sound from his lips as his gaze held hers.

“I love you, Ro.”

Her heart blossomed as love poured out. Those simple words were her every dream come true and gave her the security to bask in the deep and true feelings in her heart.

“I love you, Harry. Oh, how I love you!” She screamed his name as she came with him, both of them climaxing hard, together. Two hearts beating as one. Two souls twining together, never to be parted.

She loved the feel of him coming hard inside her body. She was burning up, taking all he could give and giving it back as best she was able.

His love was a miracle, and the emotional part of her that was just discovering the wonder of it wanted to dance and sing with joy. But the orgasm her lover had given her with such reckless abandon left her body wrung out. Blissfully, happily exhausted.

Harry collapsed on top of her, breathing hard as he clutched her to him. She felt wetness on her skin and realized he’d been moved to tears. It was a poignant moment that she would never mention but would always hold close to her heart.

“I love you, Harry O’Hara,” she whispered in his ear as their bodies trembled in time in the aftermath. “And if you think I’ll ever let you go, you’ve got another think coming.”

She felt his chuckle in the shaking of his shoulders, and when he lifted his head to meet her gaze, she fell in love all over again with the smile on his face.

“Now that’s a human expression if I’ve ever heard one.”

“I told you my foster parents were human.” She wasn’t sure if he was amused or concerned about her slip into the human lingo she’d been raised with. She had to be careful around the Alvians she’d been sent to work with. Such casual use of human language would raise eyebrows. But with Harry, she could be herself. Couldn’t she?

“I was just thinking how wrong I was,” he was quick to reassure her, his tone kind and filled with wonder. “I thought the only way I could have the emotions you just shared with me was if I had a human mate.” He reached up to stroke her hair gently away from her face. He was so tender that it touched her deeply, but she needed further clarification.

“And now?” she prompted.

“And now I’m willing to admit that maybe I’m not infallible. But if you repeat that, I’ll deny it,” he teased, the smile that lit his handsome face making her join in. Joy filled her heart and she leaned up to kiss him gently. “I’m not one hundred percent sure of any of this, but I guess I’ll just have to see where it leads. I can’t deny I want you, Ro. I don’t know how I feel about the future. So much is up in the air right now. I don’t know what to think beyond just the next few minutes. I hope you can live with that while I figure it out.”

“I’ll try. And I’m glad you are willing to try. I don’t think I can live without you now, now that I’ve found you.”

Harry rolled over on the mats, taking her with him, snuggling her against his chest.

“I’ve never known exactly what the future holds for me, sweetheart, but I’m willing to see where this leads us. I’m glad you dared me to search your feelings. If you’re willing to overlook the fact that I’m far from perfect and tend to be temperamental, I’m willing to try.” His words still hedged, but she could work with them. At least he wasn’t running in the opposite direction anymore.

“Okay, Harry. Let’s take it slow and see where this leads.” And she’d pray to every old deity she could uncover that it would lead to a permanent union.

Chapter Ten

Harry felt calmer about his personal situation after his little talk with Roshin in the gym. Cormac found them, still entwined, about a half hour later, warning them that the pod would be lifting off as soon as darkness fell.

Harry noticed the way Cormac’s fists tightened and jealousy rolled off him in waves when he found them together. Harry wasn’t too proud to admit he felt smug lying there with Ro in his arms.

But now that Harry’s empathic senses were open wider, he was feeling all sorts of nuances from both Alvians that he’d missed before. Cormac was angry, yes, but he also felt envy and a stirring desire for a repeat of the threesome they’d shared the night before. Cormac wanted to watch. He wanted all three of them together. He didn’t seem interested in simply stealing Roshin away for himself.

Now wasn’t that an interesting thought? Roshin wanted both men. She’d made that clear. Now Cormac seemed to want the threesome as well. It was Harry who had to adjust his thinking here. And he needed time to do it. He wasn’t as able to turn on a dime as these aliens, and that thought impressed him by its absurdity.

Those who had only just gotten emotions were proving better able to adjust than Harry, who’d struggled with emotion his entire life. Now wasn’t that ironic?

“Percival asked me to find you both,” Cormac said haltingly, with a bit more force that the occasion demanded. “The ancients want to brief us on their plan. Meet in the galley in ten minutes.” He turned on his heel and left without another word, and Harry had to stifle a chuckle.

“Cormac isn’t too happy with us right now, little Ro,” he observed, sitting up and taking her with him.

He tried to help her readjust her clothing, but her top was a tangled mess around her arms. By comparison, Harry only had to pull up his pants to be mostly respectable. They had to go in search of Roshin’s pants. Somehow, they’d ended up flung across a piece of equipment a few yards away. Harry had to chuckle at that too.

With his new discovery of Ro’s deep emotions, he found a lot of joy in simple things, like how far gone they’d both been in the heat of the moment. He helped her get dressed and they left the gym together. She took a few moments to use the lav while he sat down in the galley across from Cormac. The ancients weren’t there yet and the silence stretched.

Finally, Harry had enough and offered the proverbial olive branch.

“I won’t say I’m sorry for spending alone time with Ro. If we do end up sharing her as our mate, that’s something we’ll both have to get used to, I guess.”

Cormac looked thoughtful rather than angry at Harry’s words and he seemed to think about it before answering.

“Your sister has such an arrangement. Is that how it works for them?”

“Honestly, I have no idea how they work things. Their private lives are their business and not something I ever wanted to know too much about. I would think though, that each of us has to find what works best for our own lives. In my case, that means from time to time I’d like to be with Roshin alone. The threesome was fun. Mind blowing, in fact. But every once in a while the deeper connection of one-on-one is nice too.”

“I can understand that, I guess,” Cormac allowed. “We will all have to make adjustments to our thinking if this relationship is to proceed.”

“Do you want it to?” Harry asked baldly. Cormac’s emotions weren’t as fully developed as Roshin’s, though he was coming along nicely.

“Yes,” he answered solidly, and Harry could feel the conviction behind his words. “I believe Roshin is my true Resonance Mate. I also believe she is yours as well. More than that, I see how you make her happy and I would not deny her that. Although it will be difficult to adjust to this concept, I will do my best to try. To make her happy. Her happiness is important to me.” Cormac sounded as if he was just realizing the truth of his words as he articulated them.

Something was happening here. Cormac was evolving right before Harry’s eyes. Learning to put the one he loved before himself. If that wasn’t an example of his profound character, Harry didn’t know what was. Respect for the other man took root in Harry’s mind. That was a good thing. A good basis on which to start.

“All right then,” Harry said, feeling something shift within him. “We will give it a try and see how it goes.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” Hara’s voice boomed from the doorway as he entered, followed closely by Percival. “Glad you’re giving this a chance, Harry.” Roshin came in from the other side of the galley a few seconds later.

Harry chose not to reply as everyone settled around the table. The two ancients had brought a display with them that when placed in the center of the table and activated, showed a holographic map of the area.

“According to the measurements provided to Cormac from his dig team, we are now clear of ice from above. That’s enough to get us out of this hole and into the air,” Hara reported. “We’ve checked the engines and they’re good to go. What I propose is this…”

He touched a control that made the hologram shift, showing the path of the pod as it rose out of the hole and then zooming out to display a map of the world. The pod slipped from up near the North Pole to the Northern City in a quick arc, coming to rest on the pad nearest the Council Chambers.

“Going straight for the kill, I see,” Harry commented.

“Kill?” Cormac sounded concerned.

“It’s a human expression. Meaning you’re going direct to the source,” Harry explained.

He sensed there would be a lot of explaining should this threesome continue. Silently, he prayed for strength. Life would be so much easier with a human mate. There wouldn’t be Cormac to contend with or any need to educate in the ways of emotion and human slang. But then there wouldn’t be Ro either. That thought made Harry pause in his self-pity party.

Maybe they weren’t human, but they learned fast. And they both had all the advantages of the finest Alvian genetics. They would live a long time, and once they both got up to speed on the emotion thing, they’d probably do okay. Once again, Harry resolved to let things progress and see where they led. That was the best he could do for now.

“I see,” Cormac relaxed fractionally. “Do you think it wise to enter the city so boldly?” he asked Hara directly. “The defenses around the Council Chambers and that landing pad specifically are considerable. Probably the best on the planet.”

“Outside the
Zxerah
compound,” Roshin put in helpfully.

“It is no problem,” Percival spoke up for the first time since entering the room. “We have already discretely tested our ancient codes and they still work. We laid the groundwork for this millennia ago, younglings. Trust us to know what we’re doing.”

“Besides,” Hara added. “Entering the Council Chambers with our codes will go a long way toward proving who we are. If we sneak in, there will be even more challenges regarding my identity. If we go straight in—and invite the challenge from the highest authority on the planet immediately—the matter will be settled much quicker. Besides, the Council has the means to test my DNA on the spot. I intend to force their hand to do so on the record at our first meeting. This way, they will not have advance warning to alter the results should the corruption on the Council continue. They will not want to cede power easily, I think.”