Hearts of Ishira (Hearts of Ishira Saga) (70 page)

“But look at this area, right here.” Jace tapped the screen, enlarging the images on both pictures, showing the same areas of the brain. Ri narrowed her eyes.

“Mine is really bright. What does that mean for your scans? Back on Earth, I think it means empty spaces.”

“The bright areas are where there is a special kind of electrical activity, the kind that we associate with what you call ‘psychic’ powers. Our physicians know that this particular kind of energy is unique in Readers, and is capable of sort of... absorbing similar energies from those around you. So, even though I don’t have Reader abilities,” Jace said by way of explanation, “My brain still emits this wavelength.

“Most peoples’ minds put it out, but can’t pick it up. But Readers can. And once they’re trained, Readers can also send that energy back out, altered, so that they can subtly touch others’ minds. You and Hunter are able to help ease pain, calm people down, shut them up… That ‘mom voice’ you use sometimes, Ri, is a great example. When I had you use it earlier, the activity in this area of your brain spiked, flashed brilliantly. Hunter’s did the same thing when I told him to give orders like he meant it. But his wasn’t nearly as bright.”

“Which is strange,” Hunter said thoughtfully, “Since I am many years older than Ri, and have been trained to use my Reader abilities from a very young age.”

“Exactly,” Jace said, looking at Ri with new respect and a bit of awe. “I would love to perform more experiments at some point, but for right now, I want to point out that, if you are indeed able to have children, Ri, their brains could, theoretically, be a wonderful mutation of your species and ours.”

“Meaning Hunter’s children could have the same enhanced abilities that I do?” she asked. Hunter found her hand and held it, sending her the joy he felt at the thought of such a thing happening.

“Yes,” Jace said simply. “Now though, there is one other possibility, and we will have to see what comes of this, but…”

“What?” Hunter asked, arching a brow at his brother. Jace shrugged and sat back, looking at Hunter soberly.

“Sean.”

Hunter’s hand clenched around Arianna’s, almost to the point of pain. She felt his consternation, but he blocked his thoughts before she could figure out the source of it.

“We agreed that we would be her only mates,” Hunter growled. Jace nodded.

“Yes, but when we did so, it was with the belief that all of our team was… gone. Sean’s alive.”

Hunter made a frustrated noise, then rose and started pacing the room.

“He will expect at least to get to know her, you know,” Jace said. Ri glared at him.

“So does
she
have any say in any of this?” she asked acerbically, “Or does
she
just go with the flow and accept a complete stranger as a mate, just because you guys happen to share DNA?”

Jax, who had been helping out all night, snorted before he could cover the sound. When Jace and Hunter turned their glares on him, he shrugged with a huge grin on his face.

“You have something to add, warrior?” Hunter growled. The man shook his head, chuckling.

“No, Commander. I was just thinking how wise my leaders are, to have chosen the woman they did for their mate.”

Well, hell. What could they say to that? Ri grinned at the warrior. He gave her a fond salute then went back to studying the other data Jace had asked him to look at.

“Doc,” he said after a moment, interrupting the glaring contest Arianna was having with her mates. They were desperately trying to figure out what to tell her about their brother and welcomed the distraction. “I found something interesting.”

“Put it on the main,” Jace said, turning back to the larger screen before him. Ri couldn’t make any of it out, since it was in their language. She decided then and there that she was going to learn their written language.

“It’s obvious that when both the Commander and his lady-“

“Hunter and Ri, please,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t think we need to stand on formality right now. We’ll be here all night.”

“Uh… Hunter and Ri… When they were both Reading, look at the energy levels.” He pointed to a particular peak. “This peak, though, is from when they were Reading each other. The energy is more than double what it was when they were Reading one of us regular guys.”

“I see that,” Jace murmured, scrolling through the results quickly. Ri saw more spikes, each one higher than the last, and figured that those correlated with the other experiments Jace had told them to perform, each one requiring more energy activity.

“So when Hunter grounded me and I went ‘astral’,” she said, “What happened? The chart ends.”

“Your output was immeasurable by our current equipment,” Jace said succinctly. He pointed to a straight line that ended at the edge of the chart, then showed her another peak, much lower, but still higher than all the others. “This is Hunter’s peak. I don’t think he’s ever measured that high before, but now that he knows he has the capability, I doubt he’ll stop there. Or let us forget it.”

Arianna doubted it, too. Hunter’s smug grin confirmed both their suspicions.

“But yours, Ri… we don’t have the ability to map that at the moment.”

“Sir, I can easily go in and change the test parameters, if you like, to allow for exponentials.”

Hunter and Jace both looked at Jax with a bit of surprise. He grinned and shrugged.

“You guys aren’t the only ones who can master lots of different subjects. I have been working toward mine in computer science.”

Jace smiled at him proudly and nodded.

“That won’t be ready for several hours,” the warrior said. “So if you want to take a break until then…”

“I think we should,” Ri said. She felt wonderful, but she sensed that Hunter was a lot more drained than he was letting on. He shot her a rueful grimace, his eyes asking her to keep that knowledge to herself. She smiled softly and caressed him with her mind. His eyes softened and warmed. “I don’t know about these big guys, but I’m starving.”

“Ah, our mate desires nourishment,” Hunter said, helping her down off the desk she’d been sitting on. “Jace, are you coming? I need to know whether to fix food for two or three.”

“Ah… two,” Jace said, never taking his eyes from the data. “Jax and I will send someone to get us something when we are ready for a break. You two get some rest. I want to do some more work later this afternoon with you.”

Ri leaned down to hug his shoulders, pressing a kiss to his cheek and snuggling for just a minute. He bent his head down and kissed her forearm where it crossed over his collarbone, then leaned back against her for a long moment.

“You are remarkable,” he breathed so that only she could hear. She smiled against his ear and kissed his neck.

“So are you,” she whispered back. Squeezing his shoulders before releasing him, she sighed. “Don’t work too hard, love.”

“I won’t,” he assured her absently.

She knew he was lying, but she smiled as she left him, anyhow. He was so cute when he was geeking out.

“Now, about your brother,” Arianna said a little while later, once she and Hunter had finished a light breakfast out on the balcony. The stars were still out, though a faint sheen of purple was edging the mountains to the east.

“Jace?” he asked rather absently.

She rolled her eyes and moved to sit on his lap. He blinked at her when she hitched her skirt up and straddled his thighs, looping her arms over his shoulders and clasping her fingers behind his neck. Leaning over, she kissed him. Not hard enough to raise his ardor, but enough to focus his attention to her, instead of whatever was occupying his mind.

“No, silly,” she laughed lightly. “Sean.”

“Sean’s alive,” Hunter said in wonder, his hands moving to clasp her hips. He grinned up at her. “You found him.”

“He found me, Hunter,” she reminded him. At his questioning look, she continued. “You remember more than a month ago, when we felt that presence on your ship?”

He nodded, his eyes widening with comprehension.

“And I had a dream the first night we were here, about something coming. It was when you were called away to look at something on the long-range scanners, I think. Now that I’ve touched Sean’s mind twice, I know that the original contact wasn’t a dream. It was him. He found me, across space. I think he was casting about for you or one of your family members, but he found me. I just didn’t know that the first time.”

“So you’ve actually touched his mind three times now?”

“Yes, but there’s more.” She took a deep breath. “We spoke. Not just impulses and images, but actual words in our heads.”

Hunter stared at her.

“I know of no Readers who can do that,” Hunter said slowly. “I didn’t know that Sean could, but I haven’t been in contact with him for over ten years.”

“Ten years? Oh, Hunter.”

“It’s all right.” He hugged her to him. “Now we know he wasn’t dead, it was worth waiting to be with him again. I wonder if my parents know?”

“He didn’t say anything about them, but I got the impression that there were male and females on the ship.”

“Ah,” Hunter said. “Then he was able to command one of the evacuation ships. Good. That’s the best place for his particular talents.”

She smiled down at him. He loved his brothers, was proud of them both. She kissed his lips softly, gently, then held his face so that he couldn’t avoid her gaze.

“Hunter,” she said quietly, “Tell me what happens when he gets here.”

“Well, his refugees will integrate into our colony. We’ll most likely have to build new living quarters-“ He stopped when she laid a finger over his mouth, his eyes begging her not to make him face her question. Her determination was stronger, though.

“Hunter.”

He sighed against her finger, then nodded his capitulation.

“It is not required that you take all of us,” he told her after a minute. “It is tradition, and usually the members of a team are alike enough that their woman finds them all acceptable. But not always. In the end, it is your decision. No one will think less of you if you choose not to accept him.”

“What do
you
want me to do?” she asked him. His eyes were soft and unsure as he gazed at her.

“I do not want another man to touch you, ever, other than Jace and me,” he told her with hot intensity. “But, if you meet him and decide that you want Sean as well… I cannot stop you. And if there must be another man in your heart, I would hope that it be my brother. I know he would treat you well, love you as we do, and love our children as his own.”

“Then why do you resent the possibility?” she asked softly, ruffling her fingers through the strands at the back of his neck, where his hair mingled with the fur that ran down his back. He practically purred at the caress, just as she knew he would. “If you do not want me to be with him, then I will not be. I love
you
, Hunter, and Jace. I don’t see myself needing or really wanting anyone else.”

“You have not met Sean yet,” he muttered. “And if Sean decides to challenge for a place in our new family… it is your choice, but it would not be hard to include him.” He sighed and rested his forehead against her breast. She hugged him to her, comforting him.

“What are you afraid of, love?” she asked after a moment, sensing the root of his problem. Hunter laughed, though the sound lacked humor, and looked up at her.

“Will it always be this difficult to hide my feelings from you, little one?”

“I hope so,” she retorted, kissing his nose.

“I am afraid…” he sighed heavily, “That you will end up loving him more than me.”

Arianna blinked at him, incredulous.

“I do not love Jace more than you,” she pointed out. “Why would you think I would love Sean more?”

“Because, Sean is…special. You’ll understand when you meet him, when you have a chance to spend some time with him.”

“You’ve always lived in his shadow, haven’t you?” she guessed. He glared at her. She’d guessed correctly, then. Sighing, she pulled his face back to her breast and rested her cheek on his head. “Hunter, I love you and Jace equally. I don’t love one more than the other. I love you in different ways. I suspect that, should another man ever capture my heart, it will be the same. No more love than I have for you two, but different from what I have with you. Kind of like a mother and her children, I’d think. She loves each of them with everything in her, but in completely different ways, because they’re completely different people. It’s the same thing with you and your brother for me. Can you understand that?”

“Yes.” Hunter said, holding her tightly. “But that doesn’t mean I want to share you any more than I already have to!”

She laughed delightedly at that. Rising back up to look down at him, her smile changed to that sexy little curve of the lips that he knew was just for him. She shifted on his lap until the hardening ridge of him rested comfortably between her legs. Leaving both of them breathless, she kissed him, her hips rocking provocatively along his shaft.

She spent the next hour showing him how very much she wanted and loved him.