Upon the Threshold (31 page)

He snorted as they stepped into the lift. Swiping his card, he punched in the code, and they started to move. “He’d try to pull me out, but we’re about equal weight. Of course, he is naturally meaner, so that could be in his favor.”

“This is true. Sorry, but he could likely take you if you put up a fight.” Kraven had mean and size on his side, but then again Lukkis had cunning and dirty fighting. “Well, we will do whatever it is that we have to do, right?”

“Absolutely,” he said with a nod. As they came to a stop, he led her up the hall and onto the command deck.

He’d been right. Chaos seemed to be the name of the game up there.

“Grab his chair,” he told her softly. Since it was positioned out of the path of everyone and slightly raised, no one went near it. It was a good spot to wait until Kraven came up there and got everyone sorted out and calmed down.

She took the seat and settled in. Reaching out, she took Lukkis’s hand and smiled up at him. “You look every bit as frightening as Kraven can look when other men get too close to me.” Lukkis might be laid back, but he was a warrior.

“I do try,” he said with a shrug. Lacing his fingers with hers, he gave her hand a squeeze. “Besides, they know I can kick their little asses if I want. Very easily,” he added. He leaned a hip to the chair as everyone waited for the arrival of Kraven.

“Uh, here we go,” he murmured. Someone ran in and had a whispered conversation with another member of the crew, whose eyes went wide. Nodding, he tore off across the room and passed the word to someone else, and so it went. When Kraven walked onto the command deck, everyone was in place and standing up straight.

Eli looked at Kraven and licked her lips. “Hey, you.” Funny how when both men were close to her, she got wet. It was the craziest thing too. She would have both of the men together, and she wanted, she needed, and she ached. “We ready to take off? And are you good with me taking your seat?”

Looking to her, he nodded. “Of course,” he said, moving closer. Taking the hand she held out to him. “We will be lifting off momentarily. Stay in the seat. You need it more than either of us.”

“Thank you. I like this, being in the center of the two of you. I could get used to this.” She leaned her head back, however, and closed her eyes. They both knew she didn’t like the takeoff and landing parts of the trip.

Kraven rubbed his thumb over her knuckles while he called out orders. Lukkis just held her hand in his. A great shudder went through the ship before the sound of the engines began to roar louder and louder. The ship was moving. She could feel it through the chair, every vibration and shift. The pressure in her ears increased as they climbed in the sky, pushing for the atmosphere and escape velocity to break from the pull of the planet.

Eli yawned again. She didn’t pay attention to anything except the heat of both men’s hands holding hers. She kept her eyes closed. She wanted to ensure that she was able to get into orbit and then space without throwing up. That would just not be good. At all.

Soon enough the moment of weightlessness came before the internal systems corrected and artificial gravity engaged. Most people wouldn’t even have noticed, but with her eyes shut, she was more focused on sensations than anything else.

“Set course. When we get there, I want to be notified,” Kraven said before he tugged lightly on her hand. “Come, little mate. We can get you to a bed to relax for a little while before we feed you.”

“That sounds like a lovely plan.” None of them had slept well the night previously, so a nap would be wonderful. “And then the food. Definitely food.” She would never turn away a meal, and they all knew it.

Nodding, he put a hand on her back and rubbed gently as they walked off the command deck. “I thought you might feel that way,” he said softly, a small twitch of his lips showing his amusement.

“Yes, well, I didn’t eat this morning because my stomach was in knots and I thought I would be ill. I had thought it was just nerves, but I guess that the two of you have put that one in the right light.” Pregnant. She was still trying to wrap her mind around that one.

“I know. I’m sorry we weren’t able to put your mind at ease sooner. We should have caught it before this morning and realized. I’m sorry we didn’t, Elisabeth. I know it must be hard trying to take it all in, and now with this unexpected trip…” He sighed softly.

“It’s okay. We know now. That’s the important part. We don’t have to find out during the trip and be surprised at a very inopportune time.” And they would be able to adjust her diet when necessary. “Will the medical officer on board be able to ensure that we have the best care possible for our baby while we are on this other world as well?” That was all that mattered to her—that their child would receive all that he or she needed.

“Yes,” Lukkis answered her. “We haven’t mentioned anything yet, but we will need to. We will need to say something about the time. We will have them give you a full workup to ensure everything is going well. It will be hard to keep it secret, especially on a vessel, so expect many of the crew to stop you in the halls to pass along their well wishes.” He shot Kraven a look and then threw her a wink. “Or condolences.” He whispered the last, but Kraven heard if the growl was anything to judge by.

Eli laughed at that. “Don’t pick on him,” she chided. “We all know that the crew realizes that I’m beyond happy being in this relationship with the two of you. I can’t tell you just how excited I am. However, I have to ask, how would they find out before we wanted them to know?”

The men shared a look and then looked to her, disbelief written on their faces.

“Really?” Lukkis asked, sounding stunned. “It’s a vessel, a closed environment. People talk. Your own culture had something that was called a…” He trailed off. “It was called— Damn, why am I not remembering it?”

“Grapevine.” Kraven saved him. “It was called the grapevine. Which is very confusing, as it also referred to a plant as well. Your language has many very complicated nuances to it, Elisabeth.”

She got it then and giggled. “Oh, lord, that’s too funny. That is an ancient saying. See, back on my homeworld, when the land was carved up into spaces called countries and were ruled by one ruler, one of them called the United States of America had these things called telegraph wires. Now keep in mind this was back well before we had any communications ranges. Anyway, a telegraph line was this line that ran from place to place. What would happen is that people on one end would use a machine that sent pulses through the lines to another machine. So the lines had to be everywhere. Because they were everywhere, people began to liken them to grapevines. Hence, the phrase
heard it through the grapevine.
I know it’s all weird and convoluted, but we all had our pasts and starting points. Right?”

“Very true.” Kraven nodded. “But it is still very confusing,” he said as they reached their room. Lukkis let them in and she noted right away the entire space was different. It was warmer, more welcoming, and felt a lot like the master suite of Kraven’s estate. She found both men just standing there, watching her and waiting.

“Oh my.” She walked into the space and turned, looking from floor to ceiling and all around. “This is…” It was far larger than their last space on a vessel, and it was more of a home atmosphere than a ship atmosphere. “The space is incredible. How? How did this happen?” And why, but she didn’t want to ask that question and have them upset with her.

Lukkis turned and punched Kraven’s shoulder with a grin. “I told you she’d like it,” he crowed. Laughing, he came to her and took her hand to pull her around the space. “All Kraven. He wanted you to feel more at home when we can’t be at the estate. The walls in certain sections are removable, and since I don’t need my room on the vessel any longer, we moved some of the walls around to create new living quarters for us. The bathing room is the same, but now we have two. The space has doubled from the wall rearrangement, and all the furnishings and comforts are Kraven’s. He ordered everything so that you’d be happy with us here.”

Eli smiled, her eyes watering, and nodded. “I am happy. I’m so happy that I could cry. It’s not a bad thing, by the way, so when you see me cry, don’t think it is.” She sniffed. “Thank you. For thinking of me like this. For ensuring that I would be happy. I love you both so very much.”

“And he doubted it was a good idea,” Lukkis said, wrapping her in his arms. “Even though I assured him it would please you. I think you should go and give him a big thank-you, Elisabeth. I’m not sure if he’s buying your happy tears excuse, given the look on his face.”

“It did please me, a great deal,” she said with a smile and walked around. “The furniture is even large enough to accommodate you boys holding me if I wanted that. I could easily see us being able to settle in and you hold me in a chair or on the sofa. I love it. Really, I do.”

Lukkis nodded and collapsed into one of the very large chairs. “Go and see the bed he somehow managed to get in here. I am still completely baffled how he accomplished the feat.” He shook his head. “Well, you shall see when you look in there. It’s most impressive.”

Eli looked to Kraven and grinned. “Come on, come and show me this massive bed that Lukkis is going on about. Get me nice and naked too, so that we can take a nap. I’m ever so tired, you know.” She nearly snorted with her own fib. She had been a little tired, but now she was hungry and needy—both things she knew that Kraven could take care of for her.

He shot her a look that said he wasn’t buying her bit about the nap. But he did seem to know her rather well. “It’s not that big,” he muttered as he took her hand and led her into the bedroom that was twice as large as the previous one. Nearly half of it taken up by the bed. The really large, comfortable-looking bed.

“Oh my.” She had not anticipated a bed this massive. If it was at all possible, it was larger than their bed at his estate. “Are you expecting me to grow as big as a house during this pregnancy?” she asked with a coy grin.

His face morphed into a look of horror, and he shook his head. “Why would you ask such a thing? You will be beautiful through the entire pregnancy, just as you are now. I will have it removed. It was a bad idea. I did not think you would react that way. My apologies, little mate.”

“Kraven, I’m teasing you. How about you and I test out that marvelous bed while Lukkis goes and finds us food? I think the bed is perfect. It gives us lots and lots of room to move around. Just don’t think you will be sleeping without me glued to your side, mister, because that isn’t ever going to happen.”

“You are sure?” he asked, his eyes searching hers. At her nod, he relaxed and wrapped her in his arms. “I just want you to be comfortable and happy with us. If it’s ever too much, you must tell me. I fear I will go too far with trying to ensure your every comfort, and make a mess of everything.”

“I will tell you if it is ever too much. However, I must make a confession.” When he gave her that look, the one where he wasn’t certain if he wanted to know or not, she said, “I love it when you take care of me. I love the way that you will move the stars in order to see me smile. That’s what I want to do for you as well. If you are happy, I will be happy.”

He relaxed after a moment. “Your happiness is all I need to be satisfied in this life. If you are not, then I will not rest until you are once more. You are everything, Elisabeth, absolutely everything to me.”

“Just as you are my everything as well, Kraven. Just as Lukkis is and our child. We are good together. We three make a pretty spectacular unit. You hold us all together,” she added. “Lukkis is our laughter; you are our strength.” And she was their heart. She knew that without him saying it, and it made her stunningly happy.

Leaning his head down, he pressed a kiss to her lips. “I love you, Elisabeth,” he whispered, for her ears only, she knew. It was for her and her only he gave the words.

Eli’s whole heart swelled past the point of explosion. She hugged him tighter and nodded. “You are mine,” she whispered to him softly. “Now and for all time. I will always turn to you, look to you for guidance and counsel. I love you too, Kraven.”

He let out a shaky breath and stroked her hair gently. “Thank you,” he whispered against her ear. Holding her close for a few more moments, he eventually loosened his grip. “You need to rest, Elisabeth. I can practically feel your exhaustion pulling at me. Let’s get into bed, and you can sleep for a little while, yes?”

“That sounds wonderful. You will stay and keep me warm?” It wasn’t so much a question as it was a statement of fact. “Can you spare that time? I know that you have a vessel to run, but I would really love to feel you holding me while I napped. You are so very warm.”

“There is nothing for them to run into out here for the moment, so I will remain. When we are closer to our target coordinates, I will need to go and ensure they don’t find a way to destroy my vessel, but for now…” He gave her a pointed look before looking to the bed. He reached over his head and drew his shirt off. “Strip, now.”

“Good point.” She began to peel out of her clothes, grinning as she stripped, and watched him watching her. Licking her lips, she moved to him once she was naked and placed her hand on his chest. “So do you think Lukkis will clue in and join us for a nap?” Well, for her to nap and then to keep her warm.

Kraven traced a light finger down her arm to the hand on his chest. Lifting it, he pressed a kiss to her palm, his gaze on hers. “Maybe,” he said quietly. “Climb into bed, Elisabeth.” He stepped back and knelt to deal with his boots.

She climbed into the bed and watched him as he pulled off his boots. When he was in bed with her, he pulled her into his arms, and she then pressed a kiss on the side of his neck. “This is nice. Thank you for making sure that our rooms were just like home.”

“You seemed very comfortable there. I know that on our vessels it’s very strict and can be uncomfortable. Since we would never leave you behind for any reason, I thought making our rooms more like the estate would help. I am pleased you approve, even if the bed is too big.”