Those gray eyes of hers were so filled with pain; Xarrid’s heart ached just to look at them. It didn’t take him long to pull her close to him and crush his mouth to hers. She returned his kiss, and each time he moved, she matched his movements. He lifted her so her legs could wrap around his waist and when he did, he was sure he’d never felt anything so good in his life.
Saylan was urging him on for more, seeking out the secrets of his body with her fingers as her tongue danced with his while they kissed. When the heat between them soared to new heights, Xarrid broke the kiss. “If I could absorb every memory and all the pain you’ve endured, I would do so for you. It kills me to see you suffer so.”
“
I’m not suffering when I’m in your arms, like this. You are so beautiful Xarrid.” She held his face in her hands.
“
No, you are the one who is beautiful. And I love you far more than I could ever have imagined. Saylan, let me please you now.”
“
Oh yes Xarrid.”
********
Jurek and Tak dealt with the remaining Xanthians, but not before they extracted the information they were searching for. Jurek used his power on each of them, and he didn’t spare them any torture. His power was paralyzing, and he did not feel the slightest bit of remorse as he watched them scream in pain at his touch. During one session, Jurek’s anger became exceedingly violent, because the Xanthian began bragging about his time spent raping Saylan.
Jurek was not one to forgive and move on. This particular officer suffered horribly. Jurek would give him an almost lethal dose of his power and ease off to let him recover, only to begin the excruciating process all over again. It was cruel and vicious, but warranted. He begged for death while Jurek laughed in his face. When he was begging for mercy, Jurek questioned him about the location of the facility where they were holding the prisoners until they implanted the chips into their brains.
He explained to Jurek that it was on another planet, not Xanthus, and that the Xanthians were no longer creating the minions because they found their technology was too unstable. He didn’t know the location they were using now. Jurek believed him because he was crying for mercy. With a quick jolt of power from his eyes, the Xanthian was on the floor, dead.
“
Get rid of them all. Now. I want this stinking mess off Lare-Stell right away.”
“
As you wish.”
“
And Tak?”
“
Yes?”
“
Not a word of this to Xarrid. He doesn’t need to know a thing about how this was handled.”
“
I understand.”
Jurek flashed to his quarters. Saylan’s condition had him worried. The fragile state of her mind, now coupled with the added trauma of what she had inflicted on those Xanthians, not to mention the memories they had evoked had pushed her to the limits. Her mind had emerged from the chip extraction relatively unscathed, but Jurek feared this could set her back as though she had injured her brain again.
Sending out a telepathic wave, he latched onto Saylan’s mind to sense if she was okay. As a Praestani, he was able to do that since his body was fully capable of functioning as pure energy. When his thoughts discovered Saylan’s, they could only discern pure pleasure. Understanding that this was not the appropriate time to interfere, he backed away and decided to try again later.
He was torn. The Xanthians were destroyed and the minions were being evacuated, but the Yarristers needed to be apprised of the situation. Sharra and Zander were still on Lare-Stell and had carte blanche here for as long as they wanted it. Jurek knew they would be married soon and he knew there would have to be a whole lot of grandeur associated with their wedding. So, for the time being, he would allow them all the privacy they wanted. That was where his dilemma arose. Not telling the Yarristers of Xarrid’s and Sharra’s whereabouts was going to cause a rift between him and January. He stretched his arms and groaned. He would just have to deal with it all later.
********
Sharra looked at Zander and laughed. “So, are you going to ask my father?”
Zander looked at her quizzically. “And what would you have me ask him?”
She elbowed him in the belly and he grunted. “Ouch, that hurt.”
“
As it was intended to.”
“
Yes.”
“
Yes?”
“
Yes, I’m going to ask your father, my lovely bride to be.” Then he gathered her closed and gave her a big smacking kiss on the lips.
“
That’s strange. I used to know this Guardian named Zander whose kisses were so hot they could melt my boots off of my feet, but something has happened to him. Someone has taken over his body. It looks like him and smells like him, but his kisses have turned into something I would give my nephew.”
“
Is that a fact?”
“
Indeed it is.”
“
Hmm, I suppose Zander is going to have to rectify that then. We wouldn’t want his girl to feel like she was being kissed by her nephew now, would we?”
Sharra grinned and moved her head side to side. Suddenly her lips were caught by Zander’s in a searing kiss that not only melted her boots off, but made her toes curl and her stomach tighten. Molding herself against him, she moaned as her body flamed with desire. Her blood was on fire for this man and his kiss was like nothing she’d ever experienced. Zander backed her up against the wall and rocked into her, their breath mingling along with their tongues.
“
Is this hot enough for you Sharra,” he asked against her mouth, “or do you need more heat to melt your boots off?”
She was panting as her piercing blue eyes cut right into him, now melting his boots off. “Bloody hell, your eyes will be my undoing one day.” And then his mouth was grinding into hers again, taking everything she was willing to give. Her arms were wrapped around his waist and one hand had slipped beneath his shirt, feeling the ripples of muscles moving as he breathed.
“
Sharra, I could make love to your mouth all night, but we have to stop,” he groaned, “or I won’t be able to control myself much longer. Damn, you’re so beautiful.” He bent his head against hers and just stayed still for a moment.
“
Is that all I am to you...a pretty face?”
Zander stepped back from her and stared before he answered. “Is that what you think? Because I thought I had made it abundantly clear that I am completely overwhelmed by you. Physically, yes, I can’t deny that your looks throw me off the ship. I’m sorry, I can’t help feeling that way about you. If you could see what I do, you’d feel the same way. But that’s not the only thing. I am amazed by your strength of spirit and generosity. Your kindness is extraordinary. What you did for Xarrid and Saylan...going down there and letting yourself get captured. That was very brave of you, but beyond kind. You did that for them Sharra. Your heart and soul are what I am truly attracted to...you should know that by now. They are exceptionally pure and I’m not quite sure how someone like you even exists.” He extended his hand and traced the outline of her lower lip with his thumb. Then he whispered, “Every single thing about you is extraordinary and I love you with every inch of me. I’ve waited a long time for someone like you to come into my life, but I never imagined it would be someone so,” he closed his eyes briefly, “so damned unbelievable.” Bending his head down, he gently kissed her before he said, “Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking you’re just a pretty face to me.”
Never before had she felt the emotions that were rolling through her as she did now. She wanted to laugh, cry, scream and shout all at the same time. She did none of those things. What she did do was throw herself at him and wrap every piece of herself around him that she possibly could. Tucking her face against his neck, she inhaled his lush scent and then started to talk.
“
I’ve never felt so cherished as I do with you Zander,” she began. Then she told him how her heart picked up its pace every time he entered the room and how she loved the way one side of his mouth curled up a little higher than the other when he smiled. There wasn’t one thing she left out and when she was finished, she was breathless from talking so much.
Zander laughed and said, “And that’s one more thing I love about you. Sharra, I want us to be together, as soon as possible. What do you think your family will say?”
“
Maybe we can do what Maddie and Rayn did.”
“
Oh? And what’s that?”
“
They had a secret ceremony and then a few months later had the public one. That way everyone was happy.”
“
Do you think? Because I can’t stand the thought of us not being together for months.”
“
Neither can I,” Sharra agreed. “I think we can talk them into it. I can get Maddie and Rayn on our side and if they are our allies, I don’t see why we can’t.”
“
Then let’s go back to Vesturon so I can speak with your father and we can discuss it with both of your parents. I don’t think we can unilaterally make this decision. Does that sound good to you?”
“
Sounds perfect. But let’s have one more night here before we go back.” She kissed him quickly and smiled.
Rayn held Maddie’s hair as she bent over the toilet. Mornings were the worst for her. January told her the first three months were awful, but after that, everything would be fine. She had crossed the three month line more than two weeks ago, but her personal relationship with the toilet hadn’t ended. Indeed, they had become quite friendly and Maddie was ready to end this relationship for good.
“
How are you?” Rayn fretted.
That was another issue she had to deal with. He was driving her nuts. She knew he was only concerned about her health and that of the baby, but for the love of the Deity, could he not stop asking her that every two minutes?
Standing up and moving to the sink, she brushed her teeth like a mad woman, bent on removing her enamel. When she was finished, she said in the calmest voice she could muster, “Rayn, honey, I feel like double hell. I know you mean well, but you have to stop asking me that when my head is hanging in the toilet.”
“
Yes, right. Sorry, love.” Then he grabbed her in a body-squishing hug. If she hadn’t been sick before, she certainly would have now.
“
Rayn, honey, I can’t breathe,” she eked out.
“
Damn, I’m sorry. Guess I’m a bit emotional where you’re concerned,” he said as he released her.
“
Maybe you should go to the headquarters today to get your mind off me and on something else.”
The expression on his face was priceless. Maddie started laughing so hard, her ribs ached.
“
What is so funny?” he asked with indignation.
“
Oh my! That look on your face. If only you could’ve seen it. You reminded me of Rykerian. Listen, you need to let me have a little space here. And please don’t take this the wrong way, because you know how I feel about you. But I’m fine, really. It’s just my reaction to all these hormones. Go and do something that will make you happy. You look terrible Rayn.”
“
Hmm. Maybe you’re right. I’m so worried about you. You’re never ill.”
“
None of us are ever ill Rayn. This is only temporary. It will pass. Julian says I’m fine. Go! Get out of this house and have a good time. I’ll sleep and maybe spend some time with January and little Therron or something. She can help me out too.”
“
Okay, but if you need me, you’ll call right away!”
“
Of course I will.”
He kissed her and left. She sighed and went back to their massive bed to rest some more. She was ready for this exhaustion to pass too. Maddie was never one to feel bad, so this pregnancy had taken its toll on her. She didn’t tell Rayn, but she was feeling glum over it all. Her energy level was low, she was queasy all day long and her appetite had fled. The last time she’d felt this low was when she and Rayn were separated.
Instead of resting in bed, she decided to seek out January and talk to her about all of this. Maybe she could share a few pointers and ease her mind a bit.
Ironically, when Maddie arrived at January’s house, she was greeted by Rykerian who explained to her that January was also under the pregnancy weather. They laughed about it and Maddie started to complain to him about her woes. He was a great listener and suggested a few things.
“
Try nibbling on some crackers before you get out of bed. For some strange reason, that seems to help her sometimes. Not always though. This pregnancy seems to be worse than the last too, so she swears she’s having a girl.”
Maddie started laughing.
“
What’s so funny?”
“
I’m glad I have you to talk to. Rayn doesn’t understand any of this and he’s worrying to death about me.”
Rykerian smiled and said, “You think he’s bad now? Just wait until you go into labor. January wanted to kill me. I left her standing on the front steps of the palace. If my parents hadn’t been there, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
“
Wasn’t Jurek there too?”
“
Don’t remind me.”
Maddie put her hand on his arm. “Can I ask you something?”
“
Sure.”
“
Will you ever like him?”
Rykerian gave her an odd look and asked, “Can I let you in on a little secret?”
Maddie grinned. “Yeah. I love secrets.”
“
You have to swear to me you’ll never let anyone know this.”
“
I swear.”
“
It’s all a show.”