Hearts of Ishira (Hearts of Ishira Saga) (33 page)

Was it possible? Could she possibly be living one of her deepest, most erotic fantasies? Both men wanted her, and there were far more men than women in the group. She didn’t want to be the cause of a rift between these two brothers, who obviously loved each other so much. And she truly desired and liked each of them. She could see falling in love with them both, easily, if she let herself. Should she do it? Should she open her heart to two men at once, knowing that it was okay by their standards?

It was a good solution, but… did she dare? Only one way to find out…

“What happens if she finds herself wanting them both?” she finally manage to ask softly. They started and stared at one another, then at her.

“This happens on your world?” Hunter asked carefully. She felt his mind lock onto hers, probing for the truth.

“Yes, but not often,” she admitted, then shook her head. “But we are not on my world, or yours. We are on a new world, and we can make our own rules here. And I’m not asking just for myself,” she hastened to explain, in case she had just turned them both off with her curiosity. Was she seriously considering offering a threesome, because she liked them both so much? And was it her thought or Hunter’s? Was the excitement building within her completely her own, or was it heightened by Hunter and Jace’s emotions as well? “My girls will want to know, too.”

“Well, on our world, if the woman desires both, they can both claim her,” Jace said slowly. “We had thought… When we talked the first night, you said that ‘marriage’ was usually between one man and one woman. This is the ’norm’ for the people from your region, from what we understood.”

“In our culture, yes. In other cultures on our world, it can be different,” she admitted. Seeing their hesitant looks, she felt the blood flood her face. Looking away, mortified, she focused on the blanket over her lap. Stupid, stupid, stupid, she chastised herself.

“So you would not be… averse… to such an arrangement?” Hunter asked after a long moment of tense silence. She froze and slowly looked up at them once more then shyly shook her head.

“I… I mean, I’d want to get to know you both better,” she stammered, her heart racing at the thought of what she was about to agree to. Her fingers tingled with anxiety. She really didn’t want to screw this up! “You might discover you don’t want me, after you get to know me. But… well, I like you both. A lot. And I’m… um… very attracted to you both, as you well know. And I know that it can’’t be permanent, but still… Does that make you think I’m loose or a slut or something?” she asked in a whisper. She hunched her shoulders, miserable for even asking.

She heard one of them rise from his chair, felt the couch sink as leather-clad legs came into view close to hers on the couch. Then the other set. She found herself sandwiched between them. Gulping, her heart racing, she looked up at one, then the other. They were so close, so warm, and she thought she could hear their hearts thundering in their chests. Their bare chests. Their muscular, smooth, exotically-scented bare chests. Oh, she was going to have to have underwear if this kept up, just to keep her thighs dry. She’d have to make some first thing in the morning.

“On our world, it is not uncommon for brothers to share a household, a family,” Hunter told her, lifting her face so that she was looking him in the eye. He leaned closer. “It is not shameful to care for two, or even three or four, men. It shows that you have an open, caring heart, and more love than you know what to do with. If such a situation is not against your beliefs or your desires, I would ask that you consider us both, then, for your heart. I promise that you will never regret it. We will make certain of that.”

She blinked. She had been thinking merely about sex, but she sensed that when he said ‘heart’ and ‘love’, he meant it. It had been so very long since she’d considered giving her heart away again, so long since anyone seemed to want it. True, she had mostly shut herself off from deep relationships, even friendships, for several years now, out of self-defense. She didn’t want to take a chance on getting hurt again.

It had also been her experience that most of the men she’d known were only interested in sex, for as long as it was good, then wanted to move on. She was either a bad judge of character, or perhaps the men in her area were simply not what she needed. The men here certainly showed more appreciation for her in less than a week than the men back home that had known her most of her life. Was it possible that to these warriors, these aliens, love and character were more important? Could he possibly be considering allowing himself to love her? Hell, for that matter, did he already care as much as she did?

“I do,” he murmured, his lips so close to hers that she could feel his words, taste his breath. “We both do. On our world, it is the strongest warrior that can surrender his heart the most completely to a woman who will treasure it. Love is not a shameful thing, nor do we feel less for it. It makes us stronger, not weaker. It makes us fight harder, more fiercely. It is
why
we fight.”

“Oh,” she said, knowing it was inadequate, but not able to think of anything else. The juice had taken her reason, and for a short time, she forgot all about keeping them at a distance, her reasons for doing so… everything but the wonder of having two big, sexy, brilliant men so interested in her.

Then all thought was obliterated when Hunter’s lips closed on hers. The world shifted, and she felt herself being cradled in Jace’s arms, his hands stroking up and down her arms and shoulders, her head resting on Jace’s shoulder. Hunter kissed her in an exquisitely curious way. His tongue explored, delved, tasted, and lingered. His lips nibbled and nipped, taking her sanity and her breath. After a long moment, he drew back, lingering for just one more taste, then leaned away from her. She could feel Jace’s heartbeat thundering beneath her shoulders, could sense the tension in them both.

“I…” she tried to put together a coherent thought, but couldn’t. Finally, she settled for a simple and heartfelt, “Wow.”

“I think that I will not try to compete with that at the moment,” Jace chuckled ruefully, nuzzling the curls at her temple before placing a sweet kiss there. She shivered, feeling his breath and lips on her ear. He felt her telling reaction, his embrace tightening for just a moment, then gently set her against the cushions of the couch as both men moved back to the other chairs, facing her. Her head was spinning with the past few minutes’ events, the overwhelming sensations of being held and kissed by two such incredible men. She wanted more. Why had they left her? Oh, right. Because she was hurt and unable to perform sexual acrobatics at the moment.

“So… you will welcome our combined courtship, then?” Jace asked after a taut moment of silence.

“We will provide for you, teach you our ways and learn yours, and keep you company as you heal,” Hunter said, his eyes burning into hers. “And once you are healed… we will strive to convince you that no other man, or men, will suit you as well as we can.”

She gulped, but nodded, indicating that she’d think about it. Her head was spinning and she knew she was not thinking clearly, but she wondered if that had not been their goal. There was a reason she was supposed to tell them no, but with her heart pounding and hormones surging through her body, she could not remember it.

She was on a new world, with new rules, and had the two most handsome, fierce warriors that she could imagine desiring her. Would wonders never cease? Her head was whirling with the possibilities. But after only a few moments, it started to ache. Apparently, she had managed to over-do it today, and the excitement of finding herself being courted by these two was suddenly too much for her weakened condition. She yawned hugely, then groaned and clasped her head between her hands when it started to throb.

Instantly switching into physician mode, Jace gave her a shot for the pain, then scooped her up into his arms and carried her into his bedroom once more, tucking her under the sheets and dropping a soft kiss on her forehead. Hunter snugged the covers around her feet, as he knew she liked it, then kissed her sweetly on the lips before closing the door so that the room was dark.

Later, she would worry about the little doubts niggling at the back of her mind, the reasons that she should have told them ‘no’. For now, she would remember those kisses as she found herself surrounded by Jace’s compelling scent. She fell asleep in moments, a smile on her lips.

Deep in the night, Arianna dreamed again, of the coming presence. It was closer now, but coming slowly, as though it could no longer function properly. The minds in it were sleeping, except for the one she touched. It was almost asleep, but smiled gently at her as they touched. No words were exchanged, just that simple touch of energies before Ri was drawn back to Ishira. She started awake, breathing heavily, to find Hunter holding her and stroking his hand down her back, smoothing her tangled hair and murmuring wordless assurances. She closed her eyes, her head still swimming a bit from the pain meds earlier, and slumped against him, letting him hold and soothe her.

“It was just a dream,” Hunter whispered against the top of her head after a time, rocking her gently. “Just a dream. Nothing can hurt you here. You’re safe with me.”

“I know,” she sighed, smiling against his chest. “You won’t let anything hurt me, ever.”

“No,” Hunter agreed, kissing her forehead before urging her to lay back down. “If it is within my power, you will never know another moment of pain, from this point forward.”

“That’s lovely,” she breathed, smiling as she fell back to sleep.

Hunter sat with her for a long, long time, watching her sleep, holding her hand and just being there with her, for her. He fell asleep sitting against the headboard of Jace’s bed, Arianna’s head in his lap.

They were almost done with the morning meal the next day when there were feminine screams in the distance. Arianna jumped, started to get up, but sat back as the sudden movement sent pain shafting through her leg, ribs, and head. Frustrated and worried about her girls, she followed the men with her eyes as they ran to the balcony railing overlooking the courtyard.

“Report!” she heard Hunter bellow. There was another voice, but she couldn’t make out the words. She heard Hunter swear before he hurried through the suite and out the door. Jace followed, stopping long enough to throw Arianna an apologetic look. She blinked, hearing the screams and the sounds of running in the hall. Deciding that she had to know what was going on, or at least
see
something, she managed to hop her way to the balcony, using the furniture and walls for support.

Leaning over the railing so that she could see past the foliage, she watched the crowd of soldiers stream across the courtyard, Hunter in the lead. Off to the right, Arianna saw Bev’s blond head as Trey cradled her in his arms, his team around him, all of them offering comfort of some sort and touching her, obviously concerned. Ri wanted to know what was going on, to go to her friend. She was incredibly frustrated at the damaged body that made that impossible at the moment.

The dormitory seemed to be the strongest source of the screams. The men that had arrived first on the scene parted to let their commander through. She couldn’t help but admire Hunter’s strong, purposeful gait, the way his body rippled with muscle as he moved. Jace was on his heels, having apparently stopped long enough to grab a medical kit. Hunter paused at the door, finding it blocked. With a shout, he kicked the door in. The screams grew in volume, then were suddenly silenced at Hunter’s bellow. Ri felt the accompanying mental blast from him all the way up on her balcony.

For long moments, Arianna just stood there, wondering what he had found, then he exited, looking frustrated. He gave orders to some of the men nearest the door, then looked around almost helplessly. Sensing her presence, he met her gaze over the heads of his men and frowned. Looking behind him for a moment, he shook his head. Arianna tried to turn around when he started making his way back toward the main building, sure that he was coming to chastise her for being out on the balcony again and possibly hurting herself.

But mid-turn, she collapsed against the railing, holding on for dear life as memories swarmed into her head. She cried out at the pain that accompanied them, but got lost in the myriad images as she suddenly started remembering her abduction.

She had been eating at a burger place, her meal finished but her e-reader in her hand. She was at a good part in the story when a bus pulled up and what seemed like an entire sorority-house full of girls piled out. Arianna groaned and plugged in her ear-buds, setting her e-reader to one of her favorite ‘reading’ albums, and turned up the volume. But the girls were making noise enough to wake the dead. Frustrated, Arianna packed her bag and started to leave, but decided she would use the restroom before heading back out on the highway.

So she missed when the creatures entered the place, missed the first shots fired into the group of girls. When the screams began, she figured it was just over-excited young women and ignored it… but only for a moment. Cracking the bathroom door, she realized that something awful was happening to the girls, some of whom seemed barely out of high school. Her mothering instincts kicking into high gear, she acted without thinking when one of the hideous creatures raised his weapon toward one of the girls. Crying out, Arianna ran out and dived in front of the girl, taking the blast full-force in the chest.

When she woke -hours or days or weeks or months later, she would never know- she and the girls were all being held in a strange, small space. They were all stashed in transparent cylinders, naked, and had tubes and lines running into and out of them, probably for life support. She couldn’t move, but she could sense the terror the girls were feeling as they awoke and took in their situation. Either they were on a space-ship, or she was having one hell of a terrible, lucid dream.