Authors: Rebecca Airies
possible. I love you, little sister.” Drake looked at her intently for a moment.
She‟d swear he‟d been trying to tell her something with that look, but she couldn‟t
think of what it could be. As she went over what he‟d said, “little sister” stood out from
the rest of his words. That wasn‟t the way he normally spoke to her. In fact, she could
only remember one other time, he‟d ever called her “little sister”. It had happened on a
space station they‟d been visiting when she‟d been much younger. A group of boys had
cornered her and he‟d chased them away. When she‟d thanked him, he‟d said that that
was what older brothers did—take care of their little sisters. No matter what.
What was he planning?
“You have some explaining to do.” Jarritt‟s hard voice jerked her away from her
thoughts.
She looked over to find him fully facing her, a very fierce frown on his face.
“What?”
“Why didn‟t you say something about your brother being
Shi’an
? I know he was
mentioned more than once.” Jarritt used his hold to tug her out of her chair.
She caught herself before she dropped to the floor. Glaring at him, she straightened.
It wasn‟t as if he‟d been totally up front with her. He‟d actively schemed to get his way.
“Did I mention I didn‟t want to be here? I hadn‟t planned on doing anything to
encourage you and hoped you‟d lose interest in me.” She leaned back resisting the
tugging pull of his hand. He obviously wanted her in his arms, but she knew better
than to fall into that trap.
“Lose interest? You would have been waiting the rest of your life for that to
happen. I‟m going to be your husband. I knew from almost the moment that I caught
your scent.” He tugged again.
She stumbled forward a step and pulled back. “How about looking for someone
who actually gives you some encouragement?”
“You encouraged me, just not verbally.” His hand tightened on hers and gave a
quick jerk.
She tumbled into his lap. His arms closed around her. Laughing he pulled her
against him when she tried to lunge free of his hold. She glared at him and gripped at
the arms banded around her waist.
“Would my telling you that my brother was one of the
Shi’ans
have changed the
way you acted or what you did?” she asked. She put a hand on his chest and pushed
putting a little distance between them.
His smile widened and his head tilted as he thought about it. “No, it wouldn‟t have
changed what I did. It might have changed how I approached your brother, but not
you.”
53
Rebecca Airies
She rolled her eyes. “What, you wouldn‟t have acted so macho and arrogant? You
practically treated him like an underling who you could order around.”
“And you set up the adversarial relationship between us by not telling me that he
was the
Shi’an
. It will take time for that to change.” His hand cupped her chin and
forced her to meet his eyes.
“You think it would be any different? He saw the way that I acted, my reluctance.
He knew that I didn‟t really want this claiming.” She pushed his hand away from her
chin. She knew her brother. He wouldn‟t have missed the signs of her hesitance, her
unwillingness.
“You have a brother who is
Shi’an
and four other probably powerful brothers. Their
presence and strength kept the men from pressing the claim and changing your mind.
That would have probably happened if you didn‟t have that protection. But I‟m happy
you did have it. Now I have you.” He leaned down and closed his teeth over her lip.
A tingle danced over her skin as he slowly pulled back. Her tongue slicked over her
lip. How could that simple touch feel so good? She took a deep breath and the scent of
his arousal filled her senses.
“It didn‟t happen to at least two of my friends and they didn‟t have five older
brothers, one of whom was one of the
Shi’ans
of my clan.” She gave him a doubt-filled
look.
He was just trying to make believe that the ways of his clan were so normal that
they even happened in her clan. She wasn‟t about to believe that. She‟d have seen it.
How could she have missed the sight of even one man behaving as he had?
“Their brothers or parents did hold a high position, didn‟t they? High enough to
live in the same
marrohl
as the
Shi’an
?” Jarritt asked as he trailed his fingers up her ribs.
“Yes, they lived in the same
marrohl
, but they‟re still unmarried. And I can‟t
remember even hearing of anything like it.” She firmed her lips and focused on a point
beyond his shoulder.
“They were under basically the same protection as you. And you wouldn‟t have
heard anything about it. All the details of the claiming are kept away from young
females. If you‟d seen anything, it would have been easily explained as a need to talk
alone or something like that.” Jarritt‟s lips brushed along her jawline.
“The women would say something or argue.” She shook her head. There was no
way she could have missed all of the signs of women being claimed as she had been.
“Did you take your situation public with loud arguments?” Jarritt‟s mouth moved
down her neck.
She drew in a shuddering breath and tipped her head to the side. “I‟m a stranger
here. There was no one I could go to, talk to, or who would even help me. If I‟d been at
home, I‟d have friends I could go to. While my mother‟s dead, there is an older woman
I could have gone to as well. I wouldn‟t have felt trapped and alone as I did here.”
54
Lisia’s Journey
“The young women do go to talk to older females, but they soon find out the truth
if they don‟t know it. A claiming is unavoidable.” His head lifted and he looked into her
eyes.
She saw unswerving determination in his eyes. She didn‟t know about the way
things were done elsewhere or with other people. With Jarritt, she believed that a
claiming just might be unavoidable, simply because he wouldn‟t give up until he got
what he wanted. The idea sent a hungry thrill through her as well as scared her right
down to her toes.
He watched her for a few more moments, satisfaction burning in his eyes. Still
holding her, he stood. Her feet slid along his legs and their bodies aligned. His hands
moved down her body and cupped her buttocks. As he rocked her against him, she felt
his hard thick shaft nudging against her. Anticipation sent a spurt of excitement
shooting through her. Hot moisture coated the lips of her pussy and moistened the
crotch of her pants.
“Give me a kiss. I have to go to the landing port and I‟ve been waiting for the feel of
your lips.” Jarritt didn‟t move to close the small distance between their mouths.
She leaned in to him. Her lips brushed against his and she slowly closed her eyes.
55
Rebecca Airies
Lisia walked through the buildings. She felt a little restless and really needed some
time alone. A run through the forest, even in human form sounded like heaven. She
knew it wasn‟t going to happen. After being stopped two times in the last six days, she
knew that Jarritt had given orders. She wasn‟t confined to the city. She just had to have
an escort to leave. That made her angry. She didn‟t need to be followed around by some
guard. She couldn‟t leave the planet without getting access to a spaceship and that
would be impossible without at least one person seeing her. He knew none of the men
would let her leave the planet, but that wasn‟t changing his stance. Just thinking about
it infuriated her.
For the past few days, she‟d been busy. The last of the refugees had left and things
were finally getting back to normal. Lisia kicked at a stone near the toe of her boots. She
hadn‟t found any way out of the claim. At least, not one that left her honor and pride
intact. He wasn‟t going to suddenly decide that he didn‟t want her for a mate.
She looked over to the forest beyond one of the
marrohls
. The leafy green forest
seemed to call to her. The fact that she couldn‟t go into it only made the desire to run
even stronger. She knew that she wouldn‟t even get to the rear of the building before a
man stopped her.
A shadow moved among the bushes. She frowned and narrowed her eyes at the
area, watching carefully. Nothing moved. That raised her inner alarms more than the
first sighting of movement. A small animal might freeze for a moment if they thought
they heard something, but they would move again.
She took a step forward, determined to find out just what was in those bushes. One
of Jarritt‟s men seemed to appear at her side. When she saw the dark-haired man step
up beside her, she tensed and very nearly screamed. Her heart slammed in her chest
and she lifted her hand pressing it lightly above the pounding organ.
“Can I accompany you somewhere, Lisia?” Arik asked.
“No, I thought I saw something just beyond the bushes. I was just going to look,”
she said.
He looked at the bushes and then back at her. She could tell he didn‟t believe her.
“Probably just an animal.” He watched her as if he expected her to try something.
She took a deep breath, keeping a hold on the rush of anger. The man was only
following orders, not being deliberately insulting. She still wanted to hit him. The
arrogant man didn‟t need to say the words. His attitude clearly stated that he thought
she was lying. She looked at the bushes and shook her head. If he wasn‟t concerned, she
wasn‟t going to worry about it.
56
Lisia’s Journey
“If you say so.” She shrugged and turned away to go back to the main street
wending through the
marrohls
.
She headed back to Jarritt‟s
marrohl
. Since she couldn‟t work off a little of the
restless energy on a run through the forest, she‟d go find some privacy. She needed to
think. It was obvious she wasn‟t going to get a chance to do it here.
As she walked back, she watched men roll supply crates down the street. A zinging
whoosh slashed through the air. Lisia spun on her heel and saw an
Aridi
man roll to his
feet with a stun pistol drawn. Crouching, she looked around frantically, trying to see
the danger. She didn‟t see anything out of the ordinary, at least until she saw Arik
running down the street.
“Get into a building!” Arik yelled.
She turned and was going to do what he said, but as she turned to the nearest door,
she saw a young boy crouched near the wall of the next
marrohl
. He trembled, his eyes
darting around frantically. She didn‟t stop to think. Taking off at a run, she raced for the
boy. Sliding to a stop, she wrapped her arms around him and lifted him.
Just as she moved toward the nearest door, a white bolt hit the wall next to her hip.
It sizzled and dissipated. She gasped, her heart slammed in her chest and raced.
Rounding the corner and slamming her hand onto the panel at the side of the door, she
crouched, protecting the boy with her body. Impatiently, she waited for the door to
open. It seemed to take an eternity for the door to slide wide enough for her to slip into
the building. She lunged through the doorway and spun toward the protection of a
wall.
* * * * *
Jarritt gripped the stunner and moved slowly through the trees. The cool dark
shadows surrounded him, shielding him as he crept from tree to tree. Tracking one of
the pirates, he kept his steps silent. He wanted to see where this man was going. The
pirate moved with such purpose and certainty that he obviously had a destination in
mind.
The lithe blond-haired man slipped through the trees going slowly toward the
landing area. Jarritt moved behind the cover of thick, prickly bush growing near a thick-
trunked tree as the man stopped. Jarritt didn‟t intend to let the pirate take whatever he
was hunting, but he needed to know why the pirates had attacked.
The man began moving again in an almost random pattern, but he always kept
going toward the landing area. The pirate‟s cautious progress soon began to frustrate
Jarritt. He‟d stop and look around the area, always keeping low. Jarritt had to keep his
distance and make sure there was always cover near. The man stopped at the edge of
the trees near the west side of the landing area. Hesitating, he crouched there, his head
turning and his muscles tensed. The pirate seemed to be looking for something. Jarritt
had no idea if the man was searching for guards or trying to find his target.
57
Rebecca Airies
Finally the man sprang forward and dashed onto the flat, paved surface of the large
landing pad. He ran full out for a group of UDA shuttles. Jarritt followed silently,