Hearts of Ishira (Hearts of Ishira Saga) (87 page)

From the moment he’d touched her brilliant, sweet mind, he’d been intrigued. When he’d discovered that the little human woman was mated to his brothers, he’d become hungry. And when he’d seen her in person for the first time, smelled her sweet essence, touched her… the energy that stretched between them became a living spark that sent whips of awareness and desire through both of them. He could feel it in her, even as she tried to deny it. He could feel nearly everything about her.

His body clenched, even now, as he felt her heightening passion in the next room, heard her muffled cries through the thick walls of his brothers’ home.

“Shards of a
dantun
tree!” Sean muttered, his teeth gritting together. He closed his eyes, clenched his hands around the banister of Hunter’s balcony, and shook as his body fought not to give in to Arianna’s release. He breathed heavily, sweat popping out on his brow, on his chest, his back. His muscles spasmed as though he were the focus of the maelstrom of pleasure emanating from his brothers’ bedroom. And in a way, he was. He could feel a bit of what she was feeling. His skin was hyper-sensitive, his body throbbing in tandem with hers. Though he didn’t feel his brothers’ touches, he felt what those caresses did to
her
. He felt as though he was involved somehow, it just wasn’t
his
body reaping the rewards of that passion. He fought his reaction, fought the rising storm as long as he could.

But it was no use. Swept along in the flood of Ri’s energy, Sean’s head snapped back and he groaned to the sunrise, his body shuddering with her release… but not his own. Though he experienced the emotional release, his body remained hard, hot, full and throbbing, aching with the need to bury himself in Arianna. The passionate cries and shouts from the bedroom covered his moans before everything became quiet once more.

Shaking with the aftermath, Sean whispered curses and ran a hand through his long, sable hair. His fingers were trembling, his arm shaking with weakness and pent-up desire. Eyes still closed, Sean fought to get his breathing under control. After struggling with it for only a moment, he gave in to Arianna’s rhythm, synchronizing his intakes with hers, slowing his inhalations even as she slowly came down from the emotional and physical high of her passion.

“I can’t do this,” he murmured after a long moment, his eyes opening to stare with bleak acceptance at the sunrise. “
Ri
…”

With an iron will, Sean forced his mental walls higher, sought for the power to strengthen them, to shut her out, at least some of the time. But she seemed to be a permanent fixture in his head, in his heart. His only solace seemed to be that she was unable to shield herself from him, as well.

With one last muttered curse, he shoved himself away from the banister, only now becoming aware of the burning, stinging ache in his gut. The wound from the laser blast he’d taken in the belly mere days ago, to protect
her,
pulled painfully. He’d probably opened the edges of the healing crater again. He pressed a trembling hand to the bandage, felt the sticky patch of blood that had seeped through. He'd have to get Jace to patch him up again.

But not right now. Right now, he needed to walk. He wasn’t supposed to climb stairs yet, but he had to get away for awhile, to gain some distance from Ri and her joy.

He needed to walk. He wasn’t supposed to climb stairs yet, but he had to get away for awhile, to gain some distance from Ri and her joy.

Joy that didn’t include him.

Yet
.

He swore to the rising sun and all the gods of Ishira that he would change that.

Soon.

****

Finally managing to think clearly again, Ri felt her mates’ hands wandering, as they often did lately, over her swollen belly. She smiled, reaching up to touch first Hunter’s face, then Jace’s, a sweet grin on her lips. Jace leaned down to place a reverent kiss on Ri’s belly, murmuring his love to their children through her flesh, then rose to his knees.

“We have a long day, Hunter. We should probably get moving.”

Ri groaned a weak protest, still floating with contentment from their loving.

“Just another few minutes,” she begged, wanting this moment to last forever.

“I hate to leave you when you are like this,” Hunter said quietly, his big hand splayed over her abdomen. As he held it there, a tiny foot kicked at his hand. The look on his face was priceless, and Arianna giggled up at him. Hunter stared down at her tummy, pressing a bit harder with his fingers, exploring the little foot that shoved against her from the inside. Grinning like a fool, he leaned down and kissed the protrusion. Ri felt the tiny surge of energy from the baby when he did so. Hunter did, as well. When he looked back up at Ri, his eyes were shining and moist with awe.

“I love you,” he breathed, leaning down to kiss her lips one last time.

“And
I
love you,” Jace said, his hand measuring her belly. He stilled, frowning as his fingers spread over her flesh. “Ri, you’re bigger today.”

“You say that every day,” she laughed, placing her hand over his and entwining their fingers. “It’s okay, love. I’m fine.”

“I’m worried about how quickly the babes are growing,” he reminded her, shaking his head as he drew several lines over her tummy with his fingertip. “You have several new stretch marks since yesterday.”

“That’s what a woman wants to hear,” she sighed, chuckling ruefully at him. She smacked his hand when he realized he was tickling her and grinned devilishly down at her. “It makes me feel like a sexy beast, you know.”

“You are a sexy beast,” Jace growled, leaning down to nip at the tip of her breast. He delighted in the little squeal she emitted and the playful slaps she aimed at his head, but then sobered and pressed his palm against her belly. One of the babies kicked him, softening his gaze, but he still frowned at Arianna. “I want you to come to the med center tomorrow, make sure everyone is okay in there. And just so I’m the last one to say it before we start the day,
I
love you!”

“I love you
both
,” Arianna laughed. “It’s not a competition, you know!”

This time when she stretched, she didn’t get attacked, but was able to sink back to the bed for just a moment before moving to get up for the day.

Ri and her mates took a quick shower together. The excuse was to conserve water and time, but it was really just more fun their way. The men were there to wash her back and she made sure they were clean absolutely everywhere. Much laughter and many happy gasps of discovery occurred, but with all three of them already sated, it went no further than mild teasing.

They quickly dressed then her warriors helped Ri get her shoes and socks on. Besides her belly making it harder for her to tend to her feet, she was still a bit stiff from falling in the bathtub several days before, when Amy had tried to kill her. The bruises on her hip, ribs, and the outside of her thigh were a testament to the least of what she had suffered that day. Hunter’s hand lingered on one of the bruises as he slid a hand-knit kimi thread stocking up her leg. She sensed his brief moment of remembered helplessness, when he and his brothers had fought so determinedly to save her life.

If it hadn’t been for Sean…

“Hunter, I’m fine, love,” she whispered, her fingers caressing his cheek. He leaned forward and kissed the bruise, his fingers hovering there.

“I know,” he said, looking at her with troubled eyes. “But we nearly lost you, and the babies with you.”

“I am here,” she assured him, smiling warmly. Her stomach growled loudly, making them all chuckle. “And so are they. And we’re all hungry. Now get up from there, before I get
ideas
and decide to have my wicked way with you again.”

Hunter looked like he wanted to seriously consider that plan of action. Ri’s libido had been off the charts the past few weeks, pregnancy hormones sending her into a frenzy at the slightest encouragement, much to her mates’ delight. Hunter’s body still hummed softly with the teasing they had done in the shower, and he knew that it wouldn’t take much for either of them to be hot and ready once again.

Jace smacked him lightly on the back of the head in passing.

“We have too much to do today, brother,” Jace growled pointedly, tugging a tunic over his muscular body in deference to the chill in the air. He turned and narrowed a thoughtful gaze on Ri. “Though I do have to applaud our mate’s thought process.”

“Aye,” Hunter said, smiling as Ri hopped down from the bed, her mates there to steady her when she landed slightly off. Her center of balance tended to alter a little each night with the accelerated growth of her babies, and she was having trouble adjusting to it. But her men were always there, ready to catch her if she fell. Love for them threatened to bubble over in joyful tears. Her smile was brilliant and caught both of them off guard as she hugged them to her.

“How did I get so lucky?” she asked softly, rising on tip-toe to kiss each on the chin.

“We are the lucky ones, little warrior,” Hunter chuckled indulgently. “Now, before this goes further, let us see to your hair, then we’ll eat. Whether we come back and finish this flirtation or actually manage to get a bit of work done today, we will all need sustenance.”

“Especially after such vigorous morning exercise,” Jace said, his face sober but his blue eyes dancing at Ri. She grinned helplessly at them, hugged them to her in an excess of happiness, then skipped back to sit on the stool before the dresser so that they could arrange her hair for the day.

She always felt a bit like a princess when her two big warriors brushed and braided her hip-length hair with their own special plaits, as was the custom of the Thorsani. Hunter wove ribbons in his team colors of black, teal, and purple into her long curls, as well, so that anyone catching a glimpse of her would know to whom she belonged. Arianna’s feminist sensibilities were far too content with the men today to quibble with ‘claiming’ and ‘belonging’. Besides, everyone in the colony knew who was really in charge in the Hunter-Jace household, and it was neither of the two big, muscular warriors.

Ri grinned at herself in the mirror, then gazed admiringly at her mates as they worked on her hair.

With his green eyes and olive skin, dark markings that led into his hairline, and the slick black hair that eventually transitioned into soft fur when it reached his nape, Hunter was beautiful in an alien sort of way that managed to steal her breath every time he moved just so or took her into his arms. Except for the very long black hair that was normally pulled into a queue at his nape, he looked like a gray tabby cat from the back, minus a tail. Gray tabbies had always been her favorite breed of cat.

Jace, on the other hand, was all golden… creamy burnished skin, gold markings at his hairline, and long tawny hair that melded into the markings of a gold tabby on his back. His eyes were a sparkling blue that could turn deep and stormy when he was feeling intense emotion but fairly flashed when he was up to mischief… which was often. When he was deep in the throes of a ‘geek-out’ as she liked to call it, his eyes turned bright with wonder and excitement and his entire body hummed with the need to delve further, learn more, discover more. She adored that about him, adored the adventurous nature and thirst for knowledge that stimulated her mind as much as her body. And he made her laugh.

They were both so beautiful to her, her mates. They were such different men, with varied abilities and skills, but they were so focused on loving her, on keeping her safe, on making her happy every day of her existence on this world. How could she not appreciate that, and do her best to return the favor? Each day brought new insight into their minds and souls, and each day she found a new reason to fall a little bit more in love with them both. A tiny shivering sigh escaped her as her eyes filled with happy tears.

She realized that they had stopped brushing her hair and were watching her in the mirror, grinning indulgently at her. Hunter Read her thoughts, knew how close to tears she was and winked at her. Jace just chuckled and arched a tawny brow, crossing his arms over his chest as she blushed at being caught mooning over them. She scowled at him in the mirror and held her chin up high.

“You can laugh all you want,” she informed them both, “But I will not apologize for adoring the two men I love most in the universe! So there.”

That took the smiles from their faces, but in response Jace spun her around and gave her a deep, passionate kiss that left her reeling on her stool. He grinned in triumph when she blinked up at him in breathless confusion. His kisses tended to do that to her, he knew it, and he loved it.

“I’m going to go check on Sean,” Jace chuckled, plucking his physician’s kit from a shelf near the door before hurrying out of the bedroom and into the family’s living quarters. Hunter and Ri left the room more slowly. Hunter strode to the lounge area, where their dad, Geoff, was sitting with a tray of morning tea.

Ri went to the kitchen to help her mates’ mother with breakfast.

“You look awake and happy this morning,” Aleah murmured knowingly, smiling at the daughter-in-law she’d only recently met but already considered one of her own. Since Arianna was not normally much of a morning person, to see her up and about at this hour was note-worthy.