Hannah's Warrior: Cosmos' Gateway Book 2 (12 page)

Borj rolled over. There was nothing like
having his mate’s parents in the room to douse the fire of passion.
Looking over at Hannah who was staring up at the ceiling with a
small grin on her face, he thought it might not be doused all the
way when his cock jerked again.

Hannah turned and looked at Borj. “Do you
have any idea of what you are getting not only yourself into but
your planet? This is just a taste of my parents; the very teeny,
tiny tip of the iceberg.” She said with a small frown.

Borj pulled Hannah over on
top of him enjoying her gasp of surprise. He looked down at her
breasts watching as the tips hardened before his eyes. The
responsiveness of her to him pulled at his own body.
He would face a hundred Tilly and Angus Bell’s if
it meant having Hannah,
Borj thought as his
eyes grew heavy with need again.

“
I hope so.” Hannah said responding to
his quietly muttered vow. “I really hope so.”

An hour later, Hannah was standing downstairs
in Cosmos’ living quarters glaring at her grinning parents. They
were worse than a couple of high school teenagers going on a field
trip! Her mom was actually bouncing with excitement while her dad
just looked with amusement at Hannah.

“
No, you two are not going!” Hannah
said with a fierce look at her mother. “We don’t know what is
there. It could be dangerous. We’re talking about an alien world
filled with god-knows-what, for crying out loud!” Hannah threw an
apologetic look at Borj. “No insult intended.”

Borj bowed his head in
acknowledgement of Hannah’s frustration. “
I will make you apologize later…in bed.
He told her before adding,
in my
living quarters with the doors barricaded against all intruders,
including your parents.”

Hannah flushed. Borj would have happily
continued what they started this morning but Hannah couldn’t get
pass the nervousness that her parents would barge in again. Not to
mention, she almost made love in her little sister’s bed. That just
wasn’t right, even if Tink might not be using it anymore.

“
Oh course we are going. We are all
packed. Your father can write there and I want to see what type of
power structures they have in place. We’ll spend time with Tink and
her new hubby and help her with the babies. Oh, my…grandchildren. I
can’t wait for you and Borj to have some. I am going to have so
much fun spoiling them.” Tilly continued on and on as if Hannah
never said anything.

Hannah threw her arms up in
the air.
THIS is why I don’t come home
that often,
she thought in frustration. At
least with the animals it didn’t matter they if they didn’t listen
to her. Hannah growled at Cosmos as he bit back a
chuckle.

“
I tried but they wouldn’t listen to me
either.” Cosmos said in humor. “Your dad already parked the RV in
the loading bay. He had their luggage in the lab thanks to RITA
letting him in, as well.”

“
I plead the fifth, dear.” RITA called
out. “I was just following orders.”

“
Hannah, Tink needs us.” Angus said
quietly looking at his oldest daughter. He didn’t add he felt like
she could use the moral support too. “Please let your mom and I
go.”

“
Oh, daddy.” Hannah whispered. She
never could turn her dad down. “Do you two promise to try to be
good? At least a little? No hanky-panky in the hallways? No giving
advice on sex?”

Tilly looked at Borj who quickly shook his
head. “Oh, I won’t say a word unless they ask me. I swear.” Tilly
said with a pleased smile.

“
Okay.” Hannah said doubtfully. Turning
around to Borj, she bit her bottom lip. “You are totally screwing
up my life. You better be worth it.” She said poking her finger
into his chest.

Hannah packed her backpack again with her
usual traveling items. A couple of cargo pants, some tank tops, two
button up shirts to wear as covers, a hoodie, and extra underwear
and socks. She also had her small bag of toiletries and her camera
bags. Glancing around, she didn’t see anything she missed. Slinging
the backpack onto her shoulder, she bit back the wave of panic
threatening her. This was so far out of her comfort zone she didn’t
even know where to begin.

“I will be there for you.
You will love my world.”
Borj brushed
against her mind.

“I won’t be locked
up.”
Hannah whispered back fiercely.
“
I need space. I need to be outside. I
need freedom.”

“I would never lock you up.
You are like the delicate Ta’caras. I will protect you but not cage
you, ku lei.”
Borj assured her
softly.

Hannah nodded even though she knew Borj
couldn’t see. Straightening her shoulders, she reminded herself she
was in control. This was her choice. She wanted to see where these
strange and confusing feelings would take her. She bit back a smile
when she remembered her wish just a few weeks ago. She wished to
find a warrior who was strong enough and brave enough and honest
enough for her to trust. Well, she found him or he found her
depending on whose perspective you were looking at. What was funny
was her doubt there was a man on Earth who could make her feel this
way. Turns out, there wasn’t a human man on Earth but an alien
one.

After many promises to Cosmos that additional
visits were more than likely and extracting a solemn promise not to
mention any of this to Tansy, Borj opened the portal. Tilly’s
enthusiastic cry of wonder and Angus’ chuckle of amazement were
lost on Hannah as more waves of doubt and uncertainty flooded her.
She could not believe she was doing this. A cold sweat broke out
over her body as she drew back. She knew once she made the final
step there would be no going back. She would be committing herself
to both a new world and to Borj.

Borj looked back and held his hand out for
Hannah. He smiled gently, as if understanding her fear. It was the
look in his eyes that gave Hannah the courage to know she was doing
the right thing. Placing her trembling palm in Borj’s, she threaded
her fingers through his and walked through the shimmering doorway
after her parents.

“
Oh, Angus! Look at these handsome
devils. They are almost as cute as you.” Tilly was saying as she
walked around the two guards stationed inside the room set up with
the portal device.

Borj stood before his father and the council
with a weary frown. The moment they returned the guards informed
him he was to meet with the council. Borj insisted on escorting
Tilly and Angus to the guest living quarters. He wanted to escort
Hannah to his but she insisted staying with her parents until they
saw Tink and made sure she was alright. Borj sent a message to
J’kar that Tink’s parents and sister were waiting for her. J’kar’s
growled let him know he must have interrupted him at a bad time. He
brushed a hard kiss across Hannah’s lips before he left. He wanted
her to know he would be returning for her and there would be no
more delays in his claiming of her. Already he could feel the
desperate edge building inside him. He could not, would not, be
denied any longer.

“
You returned with more family members
than we requested.” One of the council members stated looking down
at Borj with a frown.

“
It was unavoidable. The female and her
parents were both there. I have claimed the female called Hannah as
my bond mate.” Borj said fiercely.

“
Your bond mate?” Another council
member said in stun surprise. “You have proof of this?”

Borj gave a sharp nod of his head and held up
his left palm for all the council members to see. “The moment we
touched, the mating marks appeared. She is mine.”

Several of the council members rose partially
out of their chairs to see the mark better. Others whispered back
and forth between themselves. Teriff looked on impatiently at the
other members tapping his fingers on the curved table.

“
He has a bond mate. The female had no
choice but to be brought back with him. The council stated the
mother was to be brought, she was. The fact her mate was brought as
well is to be expected. Perhaps these humans need to have their
mates to survive like the Prime. He followed his orders and
returned. I call this meeting to an end.” Teriff said loudly
bringing his fist down so hard on the curved table it vibrated
loudly throughout the council chambers.

“
But, what if these humans told others
about the portal? What security measures are in place?” One council
member voiced in an irritated tone.

“
What about other females? Our males
need a chance to acquire a bond mate. If word gets out that only
the royal family has access there could be trouble.” Another voiced
loudly.

One of the older council members voiced his
concern. “What of the other clans? Once they find out we have
access to a world where bond mates are possible they will
attack.”

“
How would they find out?” Another
asked.

“
The human male.” A tall, muscular
council member said just loud enough for Borj to hear over the
other councilmen’s loud voices.

Borj’s head jerked around to Te’mar. He was
the newest member of the council. Te’mar inherited the position
after his father was injured in an accident. His father decided
afterwards to retire. Te’mar was their former Captain of the Guard
and was very familiar with the other clans that made up the Prime
world, especially the elusive Eastern Mountain clan. Te’mar looked
grim as he stared at Borj. He nodded once briefly to let Borj know
he had information he wasn’t ready to tell the others. Borj
returned his stare. Something was up and he feared it meant danger
to the human females.

Chapter 9

After another round of heated arguments,
questions, possible solutions and veiled threats from Teriff to
beat the lot of them if they didn’t finish up, the council finally
adjourned for the day. Borj waited outside the council chamber
doors for Te’mar. As much as he wanted to get back to Hannah, he
knew her safety had to come first. He needed to know what Te’mar
knew.

Teriff looked at Borj as he came through the
doors. He had a frown on his face. Teriff nodded stiffly to several
of the other council members as they left. Borj tried not to show
the amusement he felt at the obvious impatience on his father’s
face.

“
Bunch of old men.” Teriff grumbled
under his breath as two more council members slowly moved by them.
“They have been on the council since before I was born. We need
some more young blood like Te’mar.”

Borj looked at his father in surprise. This
was the first time he heard him comment on the age of some of the
other council members. One or more must have made him mad.

“
What have they done now?” Borj asked
with a straight face.

“
As your brother’s mate says ‘they need
to get laid’.” Teriff responded. “They want to have longer sessions
to figure out what to do with this human male who killed the guards
and escaped. We have some of our best trackers on the task. I say
kill him and be done with it. It is only a matter of time before he
is found. What would additional meetings to discuss it do?” Teriff
growled out as he adjusted the front of his pants.

Borj was about to comment when Te’mar came
out of the chamber. He looked grimly at both Borj and Teriff. He
didn’t slow down as he moved towards his office further down the
corridor. Borj and Teriff raised an eyebrow before following. Once
inside, Te’mar moved to a small cabinet and poured an amber liquid
into a small glass. He handed one to Teriff before pouring two
more. He handed one to Borj before picking up the last for himself.
He turned toward the long, narrow set of windows and took a deep
gulp of his drink before turning around.

“The Eastern Mountain Clan
has knowledge of the females but not the portal. The human male
showed them the holovid of J’kar’s mate.” Te’mar said
darkly.

“
Where is the human male now?” Borj
asked quietly absorbing the information and calculating the
possible outcomes. None of them seemed good.

“He has requested protection
from the Eastern Mountain Clan in return for giving them
information about human females. Fortunately, there was nothing
about the portal and he was unconscious when he was brought aboard
the
Prime Destiny
.” Te’mar responded.

“
Why didn’t they just kill him?” Teriff
growled out. “Who gave you this information?”

Te’mar looked coldly at Teriff. It was true
Teriff was his commanding officer and leader of their world but
some things were best left unknown. His promise long ago held his
lips tight. There were some things even he was not at liberty to
share. He could answer the first question, though.

“
They almost did. It was only when they
were about to kill him that the holovid was played. They demanded
he tell them of the female. He made a deal with them to show them
where to find the females and give them more information on them in
exchange for protection. You should know as well as I do how
desperate the men of our world are getting. I have been to over
sixteen mating ceremonies myself and never found my bond mate.”
Te’mar looked at Borj. “Now that you have found yours, would you
give her up?” He asked quietly.

“
Never!” Borj said fiercely slamming
his glass down before he broke it. “Never.” He said more calmly. “I
have not totally claimed her yet but our bond is already strong. I
can hear her thoughts and share her feelings. It is like I am
finally complete.” Borj looked at Te’mar than at his father. “I
don’t feel the emptiness and desperate ache anymore and I have not
even claimed her physically yet.” He said quietly.