Laura Jo Phillips (21 page)

“If the disease is caught very early then it doesn't have time to do any damage.  They did not catch mine that early.”  Saige knew that she had not really answered the question Faron had asked, but she hoped he would not notice that.  She didn’t want to lie to them, but she didn’t want to tell them the real answer to that question either.  If he realized she had not answered directly, then she would be forced to tell them what she preferred to keep to herself.

Faron considered her answer for a time, and she was almost certain that he was going to call her on it.  Instead he asked her another question.

“Is that why your bruises are so bad?”

Saige raised her glass for another drink, fighting to hide the relief she felt.  She lowered it back to the table and swallowed.  “Yes,” she replied.  “I bruise easily now, and once I get a bruise, it seems to spread.  If I am taking my medications regularly, it helps, but I haven't been.”

Faron nodded and silence fell once more.  Saige noticed a look pass between the three of them, but she pretended not to.  She waited, knowing that their conversation was not over, though she wished it were.  Finally Faron leaned forward in his chair and pushed his plate back.

“Saige, last night in the ground-car you were very straightforward with us.  You told us that you were attracted to us, and that you could sense us.”

“And that I dreamed about you for most of my life,” Saige added, hoping that her honesty was not going to come back to bite her as it so often did.  But, even if it did, she could not be sorry that she had been honest with them. 

“We would like to be as straightforward with you,” Faron said, surprising her again.  She looked up and met his gaze with her own. 

“Okay,” she said. 

“I do not know how much, if anything, Lariah told you about us today.  I know only what we told you last night.  So if I am repeating something you know, I apologize. 

“When Jasani males mature, we develop a set of mating fangs in the top of our mouths,” he began.

Faron paused at the surprised expression on Saige's face.  “Lariah did not discuss this with you?” 

Saige shook her head.  “Good,” he said.  “I prefer that we tell you these things as they are, to us, intimate and personal.”

“I think that is why Lariah did not tell me,” Saige said.  “She said there were many things it was not her place to tell.”

Faron smiled as he silently thanked Lariah.  “The mating fangs do not descend until one of two things happens.  The first is that a Jasani male scents his Arima.  In that case, the mating fangs descend within moments and remain until they are used.  Once used, they are shed.  They will never grow back again.

“The second instance is when a Jasani male-set chooses a human female to mate.  In that case, a potion is taken which artificially stimulates the mating fangs, causing them to descend.  Again, once used, the mating fangs are shed and they will not grow again.

“Jasani males can only mate once, Saige.  It does not matter if it is a natural mating with an Arima, or an induced mating with a human woman.  Jasani males feel sexual desire only for their Arima, or, if induced, for the human woman they mate with.  If their female dies, or leaves them, the males have no recourse but to live out their lives alone.  They will never feel sexual desire for another, never be able to engage in sex with another.”

Could this be real? Saige wondered. 

“Can you wait for another Arima?” she asked.  Saige waited breathlessly for his answer.  When she saw him shake his head out of the corner of her eye, her heart sank.

“There is only one Arima for each male-set,” he said.  “One female in all of the universe destined to match her soul with the divided soul shared by three brothers.  One female with the ability to link those souls together and make them whole.” 

“What if your mating fangs descend, but the woman cannot be what you need?” Saige asked in a low voice.

“Saige, how can a woman destined to be with a male-set, a woman created with a soul to match theirs, not be what they need?”

Ah, Saige thought, they had, once again, come full circle.  She had not wanted to tell them this.  She still didn’t.  But, she had to.

“If the woman can’t have children, then she can’t be what they need,” she said, unable to speak the words above a whisper.

Faron slid his chair back from the table and rose to his feet.  He walked around the table until he was next to her chair, and knelt down so that he was eye to eye with her. 

“Look at me Saige,” he said.  He waited, watching her carefully as she decided whether to do as he asked.  When she finally turned her head to face him, he had thought he would be prepared for the tears in her eyes.  He found that he was not, and did not think he ever could be.  Her eyes were so sad, so hopeless, that it made his heart hurt.

“We do not need a brood mare Saige,” he said, putting as much of his honest feeling into the words as he could.  “We need you.”

“But…,”

Faron silenced her with a gentle finger against her trembling lips.  “You, and no other, will ever do for us.  You must accept that, as it is the truth.”

Saige did not know what to do, or what to say to that. 

“
Amada
, in keeping with your honesty to us last night, we wish you to know that the things you have said you feel about us, we also feel about you.  We know what kind of a woman you are, and we sense you, as you sense us.  Also, the feelings of arousal you feel, we also feel for you.  We ask that you allow us to make love to you.”

Saige’s breath caught in her throat.  This was an important moment, she realized, and the next move was hers to make, or not

For the first time in her life she felt true physical desire, and the objects of her desire felt the same way about her.  Less than a full day earlier she had awakened to find herself bound and gagged in a small box, helpless and afraid, her future unknown.  Just that fast, her life had been threatened, her future nearly taken from her.  More than ever, she knew how important it was for her to grab hold of what she wanted and experience it while it was offered, because tomorrow everything could change.  And, while she did not know these men in the usual sense of the word, on some level she knew exactly what kind of men they were, and it was all good.  She had some sort of strange connection to them that she didn’t understand, but something inside of her urged her to trust it.

“Well, if I knew what to do next, I would do it,” she said, making her decision. 

Faron frowned, not understanding her.  She swallowed and clenched her fists in her lap.  She briefly considered saying nothing, letting the moment pass, knowing that the Lobos would never push her into anything.  But she wanted this, wanted
them
.  She had never wanted like this in her life.  She was not going to let this pass her by.

 “I just mean that I have no experience in this...uh...area,” she said, knowing she was hedging just a bit, hoping they would understand her.  If they didn’t, she would just come right and say it. 

“Do you mean to say you have no
sexual
experience?” Faron asked, his voice so hot and deep she again seemed to feel it brushing against her skin.

Saige opened her mouth to answer him, found that she could not speak, and nodded instead.  Suddenly the room was filled with the sound of soft, rumbling growls.  In that brief moment before Faron reached for her, Saige thought she should be frightened by the growls.  But she wasn’t.  On the contrary, her arousal intensified at the sound of them, as though some part of her understood what they meant.

Almost before she knew it, she was in Faron’s arms, his mouth on hers, his hot tongue tracing her lips, seeking entrance.  She raised her hands to his shoulders and opened her mouth for him.  She felt his chest vibrate against her as his growls deepened even as he slipped his tongue into her mouth, caressing her tongue lightly.  She returned the caress hesitantly, uncertainly.  His soft moan increased her confidence and she did it again, a light, licking rub against his tongue.  His arms tightened around her as he deepened the kiss.  Saige’s eyes closed as she let herself get lost in her first real kiss, her arms curling up around Faron’s neck of their own volition, not even noticing her own soft moans.

Saige felt Dav and Ban on either side of them, their eyes all but glowing with heat as they watched her.  Faron stood up, urging her to her feet as well.  She heard the sound of her chair sliding across the floor just before she felt Dav behind her, kissing and licking the back of her neck.  She lowered her mouth to the side of Faron’s neck and ran her tongue up the tight ridge of muscle she found there.  The taste of him filled her senses, stoking the fire inside of her until she was nearly panting.  Her skin pebbled as Dav gently nipped the back of her neck before licking the tiny hurt, his hands slipping beneath the edges of her shirt to stroke lightly against her bare skin. 

Saige lifted her head and looked into Faron’s eyes searchingly.  She feared for one moment that she would see something crude in his eyes, as though he thought less of her for what she was doing.  What she saw instead took her breath away.  He was gazing at her as though she was the most important thing in his world, and that was something she had never thought to see for herself, ever.  She felt tears sting the back of her eyes and quickly raised her mouth to his for another deep kiss.

When Faron raised his mouth from hers so that they could both breathe, she saw Ban standing close beside them, gazing at her the same way Faron had; as though she was not merely pretty, but beautiful and special beyond all sense or reason.  She smiled and leaned toward him, pleased when Faron eased his arms around her to make it easier for her to lean towards Ban, yet still supporting her. 

Ban met her half way, his big, warm hands gently framing her face as he lowered his mouth to hers in a kiss as deep and hot as Faron’s had been, but at the same time, distinctly Ban.  Dav’s hands slid upward toward her breasts and stroked them lightly before cupping them in his hands and squeezing gently.

Saige screamed into Ban’s mouth before she had a chance to stop herself.  Ban lifted his head and all three men froze, the tension in the room building so quickly that Saige thought her hair would crackle from the energy.

Saige panted for a moment, her eyes avoiding Faron's as she struggled against the deep pain radiating out from her breasts into her shoulders.  From the way it felt, she knew the bruises must have worsened dramatically since her shower after breakfast.  They had been bad then, but not so painful. 

When the deep pain at last faded, all three men were watching her with guarded expressions.  After a few moments Faron gently eased Saige back into his arms as Dav carefully slid his hands away from her, both of them moving very slowly for fear of causing her pain.

“How much of your body is covered in bruises now?” Faron asked.

Saige looked at him in surprise.  How had he figured that out?

“Jackson told me you had been assaulted while unconscious,” Faron explained, understanding her look of surprise.  “The worsening of the bruising on your face indicates to me that the bruises on other areas of your body would also worsen.  Am I correct?”

“Yes,” Saige replied in a whisper.

“We need to see, Saige,” he said softly.

Saige hesitated, but he was right.  If they were as bad as they felt, then perhaps she needed to seek some treatment.  This had never happened to her before and it was worrisome.

“Okay,” she agreed.  Faron lifted her carefully into his arms and carried her out of the dining room, through the living room, and into the cool, dim bedroom.  He set her on her feet and reached for the buttons on the front of the oversized shirt she had borrowed from Lariah.  She waited nervously until he had the shirt opened and slid it down her arms.  She heard a harsh intake of breath, then another, then a third. 

Saige looked down and felt the blood drain from her face at the sight of her chest above the edge of the fresh camisole she had put on after her shower.  She was now black and blue up to her shoulders and down both of her arms. 

Dav knelt down on her right, Ban on her left, and they began removing her shoes, socks and slacks, handling her as though she were made of glass.  When they were finished, Faron slipped the camisole up over her head, breaking the thin straps so that she would not have to lift her arms. 

Saige was frightened by the massive bruising covering her body.  From Faron’s, Dav’s and Ban’s expressions, they were as well, though none of them said anything.  Dav went into the bathroom and returned with a gigantic blue bathrobe.  Saige held out her arms and he slipped it onto her, tying the belt loosely around her waist.  She knew from the scent that it was Dav's bathrobe, and she smiled at the knowledge.

Faron guided her out to the living room and urged her to sit on the sofa.

“Saige, we have some small skill in healing magic,” he said.  “Not enough to heal your bruises, but enough to determine how dangerous they are to you at this time.  Will you allow us to use our ability on you in this manner?”

“Of course,” Saige replied.  “I would very much appreciate it.  I have never had bruising like this before, and it worries me.”

“Just relax for a moment,” Faron said, unwilling to admit to her that the bruising did more than worry him.  It frightened him.  “You should not feel anything.”