SavingAttractions (3 page)

He wanted to know everything about her and had to hold back
from grilling her crewmates for her name, if she had any family and what she
was like. Holding back from demanding those answers strained his control. He
needed to move slowly with her at least for a few days until her wounds were
healed.

That’s my mate. Pay extra attention to her.
Jagger
immediately contacted the physician.

All of my patients get my full attention.
Kairn’s
voice popped into his mind full of irritation.
Her name is Adalyn by the
way.

Jagger smiled. Adalyn. Well, that answered one question but
left him with others. He couldn’t wait to start discovering the answers. He
wanted to start asking as soon as he saw her again, but rushing in with the
intrusive questions now would only make it harder to get to know her later.

The tent flap opened. Kairn escorted Adalyn out the door.
Staring at his redheaded mate, Jagger felt tongue-tied and lost for a moment.

“Take Adalyn over to her tent, Jagger. She needs to rest.”
Kairn caught Jagger’s eyes.

Jagger nodded and began leading her away from the medical
tent. “Are you feeling better?”

“The pain is gone. He said that it might take a few days
before I was feeling completely well.” Her lips tilted up into something
resembling a smile.

Whatever Kairn had given her, it must already be taking
effect. She looked half-asleep.

“That’s good. Here’s your tent. If you need anything, just
ask.” Jagger reluctantly left her at the tent entrance. It was harder than he
expected.

He wondered if he’d be able take it as slowly as he thought
necessary. Privacy wasn’t going to be easy. Because of the size of the group,
everyone shared a tent. Once he convinced her she was his mate, he’d think of
something, but until then, he’d use the time to get to know her and build the
connection between them, both emotionally and physically.

Jagger returned to the medical tent and continued to help
Kairn. First, because the people did need help and second because he didn’t
want any of her friends to realize there was more behind his helping than good
intentions. They might try to warn her away from him. Not that it would work,
or that he would allow it, but he didn’t want her to be afraid of him.

Once the crew was treated, he stepped into the medical
shelter with Kairn but turned to look at the tent where he’d left Ada. She
walked out and over to a table that had been set up in the square formed by
their temporary camp.

“The dry mouth is normal for the pain medication I used.”
Kairn moved over beside him. “She’ll be fine, but overall, she’d be better if
you started the change within her.”

Jagger wished he could, but it was too soon. He barely knew
her name. As for getting physically close to her, it would probably take days.
He watched her as she headed back to the tent. He didn’t take his eyes off her
until the flap closed behind her.

“That would go over so well.” He shook his head, although he
knew Kairn was right. The change wasn’t immediate, but it would speed her
healing. “We haven’t even truly met and I’m supposed to go up to her, bare fang
and bite her without scaring her.”

“It wouldn’t be easy, but if you could manage it, she’d be
safer.” Kairn stepped back.

“Yes, I’m supposed to walk over to her and say you’re my
mate and I can’t stand to see you in pain. I’m going to bite you now so that
you’ll be out of pain sooner. Yes, all for your health and not because I want
to fuck and claim you.” Jagger leveled a disbelieving look at Kairn. No woman
would believe it. Hell, he wouldn’t believe it and he was Zarain.

Ada stepped out of the tent and stretched. She felt better
than yesterday and having these shifters here reassured her. She didn’t know
what she and the crew members would have done if someone hadn’t shown up to
help. They’d had nothing. No food, water or shelter. She was realistic enough
to know that survival wouldn’t have been easy. That wasn’t even counting the
possibility that the pirates might return to get the information they wanted.

Comparatively, this was luxury. They had tents and beds,
which was so much better than the hard ground. The only thing she wished for
was more clothing. She still wore the same clothing she’d thrown on at the
sound of the alarm, a yellow shirt and black pants. The shirt had blood on it.
Although she didn’t smell anything, she knew she needed to wash her clothes as
well as herself.

The tent had been empty when she’d finally awakened, but it
was still morning. In a way, she was surprised she was awake and alert now.
She’d been coming off her shift when the pirates had attacked. After that, the
only sleep she’d gotten had been when she was passed out from pain.

Shifters. She definitely hadn’t expected to see them, but
was glad someone had come to help. Until she’d realized that their rescuers
were shifters, she hadn’t thought they’d left Galactic Central Command space.
From the moment they’d been introduced though, there was little doubt about
where they were. Shifters didn’t cross into Galactic Central Command space
without reason and permission usually, although there were exceptions to the
rule. Some shifter traders had routes that crossed the boundaries. Central
Command ships also stayed on their side of the boundary until granted access.
The relationship between the two groups was tense, but cordial.

“There’s food over there on the table. It comes from an
autoprep, but it’s still good.” The man who’d walked her to the tent yesterday
stepped up beside her.

She tensed and drew in a sharp breath, barely holding back a
startled yelp. She hadn’t seen him there or heard him walk up to her. For a big
man, he seemed to move as silently as the wind through the trees.

She had a feeling that his ability to move quietly wasn’t
the only predatory skill he possessed. He had blond hair that hung past his
shoulders. His face had a hard look with a square jaw and strong angles at his
cheeks. Silver eyes focused on her. Intensity burned in his eyes as if she was
the only thing that mattered at the moment. That look made her feel good, even
if it was only normal behavior for him.

He wore the same gray uniform as most of the other Zarain
men with him. There was an insignia on his arm along with some markings that
probably signaled his rank. Broad shoulders filled out that uniform, and the
cloth only partially hid the muscularity of his arms and thighs. Although
they’d all been in uniform that first day, a few of the men now wore normal
clothing. She wondered if he’d brought something other than the uniform of his
people. She’d like to see him in even less or maybe completely out of a shirt.

In order to get her mind off that inviting expanse, she
turned her eyes to the table with three silver domed lids. Autoprep was good.
That’s what they had on the
Setona
for the most part. It was simply more
cost efficient. Their pay increased with the amount of cargo they could carry,
and fresh food even for a relatively small crew took up valuable space. The
only time they did get the fresh stuff was in the middle of a voyage if they
found a good deal and weren’t full of cargo.

“Thank you. Any food would be great right now. I’m so hungry
that I’d eat dried rations.” She smiled at him. “I’m Adalyn, by the way.”

He’d introduced himself, but as much as she tried, she
couldn’t remember his name. She knew it hadn’t been a normal-sounding name
though.

“You can call me Jagger.” His lips curved into a friendly
smile. “I was wondering if you’d like to go for a walk this morning. Not far,
but I thought you might want to move around a little. Our physician said that
it might help with lingering soreness.”

Take a walk with a gorgeous man like him? Who would say no?
Hell, it wasn’t as if there’d be any emotional issues with him. On top of that,
she had an implanted birth control device that would protect her from
pregnancy. Not that she was sure sex was what he wanted from her, but at least,
he knew how to work at a short relationship. He worked on a ship just as she
did. Affairs and sexual encounters happened often and without the baggage of
emotion and commitment.

Ada didn’t do commitment. She’d walked away from her last
lover because he wanted more than she could give. He didn’t seem to understand
that she knew relationships didn’t last. They always ended and it was always
painful. Better to keep it simple sex.

Her entire family was a prime example of that. Her mother
and father barely made it ten years. Long enough to have three daughters. Her
father had remarried and divorced twice after their separation. As far as she
knew, he hadn’t stayed in a committed relationship since.

Her mother on the other hand had five marriages since then.
Every time one ended, she moved on to the next, always looking for that
mythical true, lasting love. Both of her sisters had seemed to be following
their mother’s example, but lately, Chaina had become more focused on her
career. Ada hadn’t heard about a man in Chaina’s life in months.

Ada wasn’t without some failed relationships of her own.
Twice, she’d broken her own rule and let her emotions get involved. She’d
thought that she could do it right since she had her priorities in order. She’d
failed. Well, failed once, actually, the other time, she’d caught her lover with
another woman and left him, but it amounted to the same thing. She couldn’t do
relationships. She didn’t know if she was doing something wrong, but apparently
she sucked at them just as much as the rest of her family.

“I’d love to go for a walk.” She strode over to the table.
“Do you know if there is any extra clothing? I want to clean what I have on and
the thought of wearing the same thing every day is enough to give me shudders.”

“We have some extra clothing. Some of it might be a little
big, but there are ties and some of it is stretchy so that we didn’t have to
bring multiples of every size. We simply forgot to distribute them last night.”
Jagger stopped beside the table. “You eat and I’ll gather some clothing for you
and the other women in the tent.”

“Thank you, but if you’re busy, I can wait and get them a
little later.” She sat and grabbed a plate from a stack near the covered
dishes.

“I’m not busy. This is going to be something close to a
vacation for us. I have a couple of men out checking to see what wildlife might
be in this area. Maybe we can have some fresh meat to go with the food we have.
Other than a few basic things that need to be done every day, we wait, we watch
and we rest.” Jagger smiled.

“Well, thank you again.” She settled in to eating the rolls
that were available.

She watched as he walked off, letting her eyes linger on his
broad shoulders and muscular legs. The flex of his buttocks was almost
mesmerizing. He was so gorgeous that she had trouble tearing her eyes away from
him. Once he was out of sight, she focused on eating. Pouring herself a cup of
the breakfast drink from the nearby pitcher, she set on tending to the hunger
for food before she worked up an appetite for him.

She’d finished eating and had taken her plate and cup to the
basin set up for washing by the time Jagger returned with a large stack of
clothing in a few different colors. She washed her dishes and turned to find
him waiting for her.

“Here is some clothing for you and for those who share the
tent with you.” He handed her the pile of clothing.

“Thank you. When did you want to go walk? I was going to
wash a little and change into some fresh clothing.” She smiled and waited for
his answer. She hoped he hadn’t changed his mind.

“Whenever you’re ready. There’s no hurry,” he said easily.
“I’ll be here. Come get me when you want to go.”

He was agreeable. Maybe too agreeable. Could he want
something more than a simple affair? She frowned but shook the thought off.
They wouldn’t be here long enough for something lasting to form. He would know
that.

She washed and changed into clean clothing. The light blue
pants and shirt she’d chosen were a little big on her, but it was better than
wearing the same outfit for another day. She walked from the tent and felt much
better and more presentable. The men were still adjusting the solar heater on
the shower they had rigged up to the water pumped from the river. Although a
shower sounded like heaven, a cold shower wasn’t in her plans.

She couldn’t believe how eager she was to go for a walk with
Jagger. Maybe part of it was because he had helped rescue her from a very
uncertain fate, but not all of it. A hunger to explore Jagger’s hard body grew
with every moment. She wanted to know if his chest was as muscular as it
looked. And his mouth, she longed to know what it felt like to kiss him. She
couldn’t hold back the smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. The thought
of tasting his lips circled in her mind. Maybe if he was interested in her, she
could get him to kiss her today.

Ada also had so many questions but probably wouldn’t ask
some of them. They were simply too personal and she’d only met this man a day
ago. She knew a little of shifters in general, but as whole, the various groups
of shifters tended to be reclusive and secretive about themselves. They could
change into an animal. The type of animal depended on what type of shifter.
There was Zarain, Feiral and Santir. Those three were simply the more
well-known of the groups.

Even at that, she only knew the names of those groups, not
what their animal form looked like or much else about them. Lack of contact
with the shifters could explain some of it, but it did bother her. She hadn’t
realized how little she knew about them. Well, except for the basics taught to
anyone who went near their borders.

The shifters were fiercely protective of their space. If a
ship went into their space, the ship and crew were subject to shifter law. In
most cases, the shifters wouldn’t take the ship or cargo if the ship carried
any. For females, though, going into shifter space carried another risk.

Shifter law stated that any female in their space could be
claimed as a mate. Ada had no idea how they decided a woman was a mate but
suspected there would be more reaction than had been shown by any of the men
here. From what she’d heard, very few women were claimed. The females of the
Setona
should be safe while they were here.

She found Jagger talking with a few of the other men who’d
come down to the planet with him. Not wanting to interrupt him or eavesdrop,
she stopped before she came too close to them. She waited. She didn’t know if
one of the men had said something to him, but he turned and smiled at her.

“Come on over here. This isn’t private. Let me introduce you
to a few of the others.” Jagger held out his hand.

She walked over to join them. The invitation sent a warm
thrill through her. Her hand slid easily into Jagger’s palm. She was a little
surprised at how natural it felt to hold his hand. The men were all blond like
Jagger, all tall and almost impossibly muscular. She’d known shifters were big,
but she hadn’t thought they’d all be giants. These were the first shifters
she’d met and she wondered if all types of shifters were as brawny.

“Adalyn, these are my friends Cort, Burris and Thal.” Jagger
pointed to the one on the right with the lightest hair and then worked his way
to the left.

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you.” Adalyn turned her head to
look at Jagger. “If you need to talk to them, the walk can wait.”

They returned her greeting. She found herself the center of
attention. They were all friendly and none of them seemed upset about the
interruption of their conversation. Still, she wondered if maybe they were
discussing something important and Jagger simply didn’t want to admit it.

“No, I told you there’s not much to do today. We were simply
talking. If you’re ready, we can go.” Jagger tugged her closer.

“I’m ready.” She pushed aside any lingering worries over
interrupting them. He’d said twice that they were only chatting. She wanted to
be with him too much to question it.

He nodded and left her for a moment to get a pack from one
of the tables. Leading her away from the camp, he guided her into the trees.
They’d come out of the small stand of leafy trees soon. Although there were
plenty of trees in this area, for the most part they grew in small groupings
surrounded by grassland and rolling hills. The area seemed to have a fairly
mild climate and she was happy for that.

Jagger’s hand fell from hers. The loss of contact startled
her. She almost reached to grab it again but stopped herself from doing it. His
hand in hers had felt right. The feeling startled her. He moved in a little
closer and his arm curved around her, settling low on her hip.

She glanced at him. A smile curved his lips and he looked
satisfied, almost content. His arm behind her was bracing and, although his
fingers touched her thigh, there was nothing overtly sexual in the way he
touched her. She had the feeling that he was doing more than guiding her over
unfamiliar terrain. She definitely didn’t mind or question it too much.
Hopefully, he was as interested in her as she was in him.