Laura Jo Phillips (64 page)

They had also told her about the other three Arimas, their special abilities, and the prophecies that had been revealed to them.  And lastly, they had told her the full story of the Controllers, and their use on abducted women being used as sex slaves throughout the galaxy.

It was a lot to learn, but she didn’t have any trouble with it as she found it all incredibly interesting.  She was intrigued by the things that Saige had said to them before they set out on their journey to Earth, particularly those that seemed to be about her, and those spoken in Greek.

That they had more to tell her made her nervous only because they had, apparently, waited this long to tell her.  Why not tell her when they had told her everything else?

Clark reached up and gently ran a finger across her forehead.  “Your forehead gives you away,
aspara
,” he said with smile.  “There is nothing to be so worried about.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you, what does
aspara
mean?” she asked.

“It means
gift
,” Clark said.  “That is what you are to us, a most precious gift.”

Hope was uncertain how to respond to such touching words, so she kissed Clark instead of speaking.  From his smile, it was response enough. 

“What we wish to discuss now is information we received just this morning from our High Prince,” Jackson said. 

“You can’t suddenly read my mind now, can you?” Hope asked with a frown.

Jackson, Clark and Rob grinned.  “No, we cannot read your mind, but we can feel your worry,” Jackson reminded her.

Hope smiled back.  She wanted to pretend she was not amused, but she was.  She was also ridiculously happy. 

“That’s better,” Jackson said softly, leaning in to kiss her lightly on the lips.  “I love the feel of your happiness.”

Hope smiled as she blinked back tears.  They were going to think she was a cry baby if she didn’t stop leaking at the eyes all the time.

“So what did your High Prince have to say?” she asked.

“He wanted to remind us of certain important issues regarding the Soul-Link Triad,” Jackson said.  “He is concerned about us doing it so far from help should anything go wrong.”

“I thought we went over everything and had it covered,” Hope said.  “Karma has agreed to put me into a deep sleep and we already tested to be sure that would work.  Is there something else we need to worry about?” 

“Nothing to worry about, no,” Jackson replied.  “But when our Prince commands us to be careful, and review everything, we obey.  Especially when his primary concern is for you, as is our own.”

Hope didn’t think she would ever get used to being worried about and fussed over so much.  But she was willing to try.

“Unless there’s something else, I vote that we start now,” she said.

“As our wife wishes,” Jackson said with a bow.  Hope frowned at him while she considered dumping her champagne over his head.  Clark rescued her glass just in time as Rob scooped her up into his arms.

“Such a temper you have,” he said with a smile as he carried her off the balcony and into the huge, opulent master suite.  Jackson followed, closing the balcony doors behind him.

Rob set her on her feet and stepped back.  “Have I told you today how beautiful you are?” he asked.

“Once or twice,” Hope replied with a grin.  “But I don’t mind.”

Rob chuckled as he stepped to her right side.  Clark moved to her left and Jackson came to stand in front of her. 

“You are ready,
Niha
?” he asked softly.

“Yes, I’m ready,” she replied.

“Jackson leaned in to kiss her again as Rob and Clark each lifted one of her hands and held them gently.

“The first injection will increase your body’s ability to regenerate,” he said. 

Hope nodded.  They had explained all of this to her already, but she didn’t remind him of that since he seemed more nervous than she felt. 

Jackson looked into her eyes for another moment, then nodded to himself before lowering his mouth to her neck.  He kissed her once at the same time that Clark and Rob each kissed the inside of one of her wrists.  Then, again at the same time, she felt a small sting in each wrist and her neck. 

An unexpected wave of arousal washed though her at the heat of their mouths against her skin, but she forced herself to remain still in spite of it.  Moments later they withdrew their fangs, and their soft, warm tongues licked the tiny wounds, causing her knees to buckle as she moaned helplessly.

Jackson caught her before she had a chance to fall, and for a moment she was extremely embarrassed at her sexual reaction.  Then Jackson’s mouth claimed hers in a hot, deep kiss, and her embarrassment was forgotten as she lost herself in the passion and heat of it.  When he lifted his mouth from hers, she felt a bit dazed, until Clark turned her head toward him and kissed her just as hotly, his tongue stroking hers in a sensual caress that had her heart racing.  By the time he ended the kiss, they were both panting, but now she needed Rob.  She turned around, reached for him and there he was.  Rob’s kiss was slower, more sensual than Clark’s and Jackson’s, but just as hot and just as passionate. 

Hope leaned her cheek against Rob’s chest for a few moments after the kiss, just to catch her breath and compose herself.  She had never felt such arousal before, not even the first time she’d been with her men.

“Are you all right?” Jackson asked her after a few moments.

She smiled up at him.  “Yes, I’m fine, just a little weak in the knees.”

Jackson returned her smile.  “Perfect,” he said.  “Weak in the knees is exactly what we were aiming for.”

Hope wasn’t going to touch that one.  “So what next?” she asked.

“We wait for about an hour, then you will fall asleep,” Jackson said.  “In the meantime, let’s get you out of your dress and into something more comfortable.”

“That sounds good,” Hope agreed.  She rose up on her toes to kiss Rob on the lips then stepped away from him.  “Should I put on pajamas?” she asked doubtfully, suddenly at a loss.

“A robe might be better,” Jackson said as he crossed the room to the closet and stepped inside.  He came out holding a garment that Hope couldn’t quite make out until he held it up for her.  She gasped in surprise at the white silk robe with tiny golden owls embroidered down the front and around the edges of the sleeves. 

“That’s too beautiful to wear,” she said as she reached out to touch the rich fabric.  She had never felt anything so soft.

“On the contrary, it is just beautiful enough for you to wear,” Clark said as he stepped behind her and swept her hair over her shoulder before unfastening her dress. 

Hope felt a little nervous at the prospect of standing naked before them, but she noticed that they were all careful to keep their eyes on her face as Clark slipped the shoulders of her dress down for her, and Jackson helped her on with the robe.  They were such gentlemen all of the time, she thought.  She felt a bit guilty that she was always surprised by it. 

She stepped out of her dress, and Clark picked it up for her while she tied the sash on her new robe.  She held one sleeve up, admiring the intricate embroidery.

“Poutanas yie!”
she exclaimed.

Jackson, Clark and Rob all sped toward her, their senses instantly alert for danger.  “What is it?” Jackson asked her.

“I’m sorry, guys,” Hope said.  “There’s nothing wrong, I just realized that I never told you about my owl.” 

“Your owl?” Jackson asked uncertainly.  “You have an owl?”

“No,” Hope replied.  “There isn’t really an owl.  What I do is called
astral projection
.  I send my conscious mind out of my body for a short period of time.  The owl is just the image I use to help myself focus.”

“I have never heard of a gift like this before,” Jackson said, frowning worriedly.  “Clark?  Rob?”

Both Clark and Rob shook their heads, and Jackson’s worry increased.  He didn’t know why, but something about this made him feel tense.

“Can you do it for us,
Niha
?” he asked.

“Sure,” Hope replied.  “Let’s go over there and sit down.”

Jackson led the way to a group of chairs set around a fireplace in the corner of the room.  After they were all seated, Hope leaned back, closed her eyes, and reached for her owl.  After a moment her silver and gold owl appeared in her mind, and she sent it winging out over the beach.

“Great stars, did you see that?” Rob exclaimed, as he stared up at the ceiling.

“It was definitely an owl,” Clark said softly.  “Only it was silver and gold, and far larger than the one she found on the side of the road that day.”

“And it was transparent,” Jackson said.  He frowned as he studied Hope’s still body.  He reached out to her with Water magic, shocked at what he discovered.  Shocked and frightened. 

“It feels as though her spirit has left her,” he said.  “I do not like this at all.”

“What should we do?” Clark asked.

“She did this on purpose,” Rob reminded them.  “We should be patient a moment.”

Jackson took a deep breath and tried to calm himself, but it wasn’t until the giant owl suddenly appeared near the ceiling once more that he allowed himself to unclench his fists.  The bird floated above Hope for a moment, then shot downward, merging with her once more.  Hope opened her eyes and smiled at the Bearens.

“That was...surprising,” Jackson said carefully.  “What does the owl do when it leaves your body?”

“It goes where I send it,” Hope said, noting the tension in all three of her men.  “This time, it flew over the beach.  It’s quite beautiful from the sky.”

“Do you do this often?” Clark asked.

“Not really,” Hope replied.  “I used it to show us which direction to go when we crossed the desert.  And I used it to eavesdrop on those criminals planning the meeting that the Director told us about.  I don’t usually do that sort of thing, but Harlan told me they were trying to kill Ellicia, so I made an exception.”

Jackson nodded.  “Do you ever communicate with your owl?”

Hope frowned.  “I tell it where I want to go, but honestly, there is no owl.  It’s just an image I use to focus.  Why are you guys so tense?”

Jackson glanced at Clark, then Rob, both of whom silently agreed that they should tell Hope what they’d seen.

“Hope, there is an owl,” Jackson said.  “We saw it leave your body and fly up through the ceiling.  A few moments later, it returned and you opened your eyes.”

Hope was shocked.  “What does it look like?”

“Very large, transparent, silver and gold, with turquoise eyes,” Clark answered.  “Is that how it looks to you in your mind?”

Hope nodded slowly, struggling to accept that there was an actual physical manifestation for her owl.  “I don’t understand,” she said.  “How could I not know this?”

“When your owl left you, I sensed your spirit leaving with it,” Jackson said.  “Either your spirit is the owl, or they are closely connected.”

“You guys are very tense,” Hope observed.  “Is it because you think the owl is dangerous?”

“Probably not,” Jackson said, forcing himself to relax.  Hope did not need to be worried at this time.  “We are merely surprised, that’s all.”

“Do you think that I will lose my owl after the transformation?” Hope asked.  She hadn’t thought of that before, but now that she had, she realized how much her owl meant to her.  She didn’t want to lose it.

“The other Arimas retained their psychic gifts,” Clark reminded her.  He glanced at Jackson, then Rob, and knew his brothers were thinking the same thing he was.  They sensed that this owl was far more than a psychic gift.  But Hope did not need to know that right now.

“Good,” Hope replied with a sigh of relief.  “I would miss it if it left me.”

“Would you like me to braid your hair for you?” Rob offered, changing the subject.

“Since I’m going to be sleeping for a while, that’s probably a good idea,” Hope said.  “Otherwise it’ll take hours to comb out.”

As Rob gently brushed Hope’s hair, Jackson searched for a more neutral topic to discuss.  He was relieved when Hope provided him with one.

“How is the new nursery coming along?” she asked.

Jackson grinned.  “It will be complete as soon as the remaining furniture is installed,” he said.

“Why the grin?” Hope asked curiously.

“Our Captain cannot quite decide whether to be thrilled for us that we now have a family, or mortified that there is a nursery aboard his ship.  He bounces back and forth rather quickly, which tends to leave his face a somewhat interesting shade of magenta.”

“That there will be four women aboard that are not crew, and therefore not under his command, does not improve the situation,” Clark added.

“You cannot blame him,” Rob said.  “He’s a battle trained Captain, and the
Kontuan
is a war ship, not a passenger liner.”

“A war ship?” Hope asked in surprise.  “I didn’t know that.  Will you get into trouble for putting a nursery on a Jasani war ship?”

“Of course not,” Jackson replied.  “The
Kontuan
is the flagship of the Clan Bearen fleet.  As we are the Consuls of Clan Bearen, it is, essentially, our ship.”