Adira's Mate (15 page)

Fintan
wrinkled up his face at her.
“I’ll take the medication, but only because it’s you asking me to. I’ll even
lay here like a good patient and let you tend the wounds. But
a kiss first before you begin
the process, if you wouldn’t
mind.” He puckered up his lips for her in a less than subtle hint on top of his
words.

That had her snickering. She
nodded and leaned in.
Adira
teased him by brushing
her nose to his,
then
lightly touched her lips to his.
When he growled she leaned in and kissed him as they both needed. She allowed
him to take the kiss deeper and reveled in the taste of him. When she pulled
back she touched her fingers to his lips and nodded. “Better?”

His eyes were closed, and he
looked relaxed. Giving her a nod, his eyelids popped open. “Much, thank you.
Now I seem to recall something about medication you wish to stuff down my
throat. Best get that while I’m still blissfully happy with that kiss you gave
me.”

“
Agreed.”
She pulled back and grabbed the
medication that he needed to take. “It might make you sleepy, so don’t fight
it. Just let go and rest. I will take care of you, I promise,” she assured him.
“Now, lean up and take these?” She held a glass of water in her right hand and
the pills in her left.

Pushing up slowly with a grimace,
he let out a shaky breath. “It’s a sad day when I’m getting a preview of how it
will be when I’m no longer fit and able. It’s not something I recommend in the
least, getting old, I mean. If it’s anything like this, I’m totally against
it.” He took the pills and put them on his tongue. Taking the glass, he took a
couple of small swallows before handing it back to her. “Do you have that cream
for my lips?” he asked as he eased back down onto the bed.

She laughed and shook her head.
Passing him the tube, she said, “I seriously doubt that you will ever be
unfit.” He was simply too alive to ever be unfit or unable to do things.
“However, what
happens,
happens. We will be there for
each other no matter what might come of it. I promise.”

“
You say that now, little wife.
What happens when things no longer work as I want them to? As depressing as
that sounds now that I’ve said it aloud. At least I’ll always have the most
beautiful of wives around.” He caught her hand in his and kissed her fingers.
“No running off with someone younger,
Adira
. I’ll be
hot on your trail with my cane if you try.”

“
No one will ever compare to you,
Fin. This I can be certain of.” He was her one. He was the other half of her
soul and therefore there would never be another for her. “We are forever, and
you’re the other half of my soul. You say that you’ll have the most beautiful
of wives, but I believe I’m the lucky one. I will have the most handsome of
husbands.
So no running off with the younger women that will
flock to you, husband.”

“
Promise.”
He gave her a rare smile,
then
attended to his lips while she began to gather her
supplies.

Chapter Fourteen

The first few days of
Fintan
being home were definitely rough. He had limited
mobility for a time, but eventually he began to make his way around. By the end
of the week he was moving under his own power, if slightly slower than normal.
It was at that point he asked her if she was up for a few visitors. His crew,
she knew, were checking in on a daily basis. They were all anxious despite the
reports Bracken swore he gave them each day.

“
Yes, I’m ready for visitors as
long as you think that you will be okay? No pushing yourself though, right?”
She was still worried about him. Even though he was up and moving, most of his
wounds on his back having healed far faster than she had expected, she was
still worried about him. He was her husband and it was her right.

“
I’ll make sure they know it is to
be a short visit only,” he said.
“With a promise to come see
them on the destroyer later for a longer visit.
Besides, I want to
ensure no one actually moved into my quarters.
And to show
you around of course.
I fear what you might think of our hydroponics
bay, though. It wasn’t looking too spry when I last saw it. I worry as to its
current condition.”

“
Of
course.”
She
was grinning at him; she couldn’t seem to stop smiling when it came to her
husband. “I should also take up some of my things as well. Have them there so
that when it’s time for us to go we won’t have as much to take with us.” She
had to think about that for a moment,
then
frowned.
“I’m fairly decent with plants so perhaps I should take over the hydroponics
bay? Just know that I might draft some of your people to work with me.”

“
Draft as many as you wish,” he
told her. “We should take some of that massive wardrobe you’ve manage to
accumulate in such a short time with us. I know you said it was a single
shopping trip, but how did you ever manage to convince Bracken to carry all of
that for you?”

“
I think that he was happy to carry
it. It gave him a reason to walk away from his sisters.
The
poor man.”
She truly felt sorry for Bracken. Every single woman that
they met, the sisters had asked if she was single or not. It had been
ridiculously horrendous, and if she thought that was bad it was nothing
compared to his mother trying to set him up with a neighbor’s child or
something odd like that.
The poor guy.

“
How many women did his mother
attempt to set him up with during your visit?” he asked. At her look he shook
his head. “She does it every time we’re there. The last trip we could only stay
for an hour and she managed to parade ten through for him to look over. They
all were tripping over one another to fawn over him. It ended up in a very
large battle during which we snuck out of there with great speed.”

“
I think that there were thirteen.
There would have been more but as I said, he carried all of my belongings.
Heavens, most of what I have I only purchased to give him something
more to carry out.”
She had felt terrible for Bracken. “And his mother
was even worse. The woman, while a nice woman, is an absolute harridan when it
comes to getting her son married off. I feel terrible for him.”

“
Now you understand why he stays
here as much as he does. Speaking of which, I haven’t seen him the last couple
of days. Where did he get off to? I know he wouldn’t go home, not with his
family on high alert to get him married. Did he return to his destroyer?”

“
Yes, he said that he had orders?
He was supposed to have left you a message in the video cache.” Bracken had
been called off before
Fintan
was fully back to
himself. “I’m sure that he’ll be back before we have to leave though, right?”
She wasn’t certain, though. Sadly they spent more time off world than on, but
she understood that.

“
Hopefully, yes,” he said. “I
haven’t
check
the cache today. I’ll do that before the
others arrive.” Reaching out, he caught her hand and pulled her in closer to
him. “We should see about getting food brought in so you don’t need to worry
about feeding the horde that will show up.”

“
Good plan. I know just where to
order food from. Bracken introduced me to this place about half a block away
that’s delicious. He said that it’s one of your favorite places when you’re on
world?
Dreesens
I believe that it’s called?”

“
He would be correct,” he said.
Lowering his head,
Fintan
brushed a kiss to her lips.
“They have some truly divine food. I think they are even saved on the vid so
you only need to make a call to get what we need. I know I have their menu
saved on the data pad that is around here somewhere.”

“
Yes, the number is there and the
menu is there too. I’ve used it, a few times. I’ve found myself these last few
days craving their braised Meer-Beast.” She typically wasn’t much of a meat
eater, but the Meer-Beast was something that she found herself craving more and
more each day.

He stilled, and frowned as he
drew his head back. “Really?” he asked quietly. At her nod he shook his head
slightly. “Unusual, but I wouldn’t worry too much about it. It is a really
excellent dish, especially how they prepare it. Now that you’ve mentioned it,
you absolutely need to get some. I now have a craving for it.”

“
Me
too.
Maybe we
should walk down there, have our meal together,
then
come back for your friends to join us?” She was suddenly starving. “Perhaps
have Markus and the others from your crew meet us for an evening meal instead
of midday meal?”

“
Good plan,” he said. “It would
get me out of here for the first time in too many days. It’ll be nice to feel
the sun on my skin again beyond what creeps through the windows. I will need to
change though, with a little assistance, if you wouldn’t mind?”

“
I don’t mind at all. Anything
that I can do to get to touch you makes me very happy.”
Which
was the absolute truth.
She would do anything at all in order to see him
naked and touch him. “Just remember that we need to feed our stomachs before we
feed other parts of our beings. So help keep me on track? Keep me from
attacking you?”

“
Does it count as attacking when
I’m a willing participant?” Taking her hand he pulled her along to their
bedroom. “Worry not, I am starving for more than your luscious body, little
wife. Besides, we need to feed our bodies before we can feed our souls.
One thing at a time.
First is getting this shirt off of me
without messing up your very tidy bandaging skills. I’ll have to wear a
uniform, second one in from the entry to the closet, please.”

“
Of
course.
You
head on into the bathroom, and I’ll get your uniform.” She leaned in and kissed
his cheek so she could whisper in his ear. “And no, it wouldn’t count as
attacking you if you were willing. However, I’m hungry, so I’m going to try to
hold myself in check.” She winked at him before she headed off to collect his
uniform.

When she joined him in the
bathroom, he was trapped in his shirt.
Or rather trapped by
his shirt.
“I was doing so well until it got caught. From there it went
downhill quickly, I’m afraid.” He looked to her in the mirror and gave a sigh.
“I really feel useless right now.”

“
With everything that you went
through I think that you’re doing remarkably well.” She helped him pull his
shirt down, and once he was sat down on the toilet she tugged his shirt off.
“Don’t beat yourself up about what’s going on right now. You just went through
hell and back again to gain my acceptance. We will get through all of this, I
promise.”

Fintan
put his hands on her hips and
drew her between his legs. Looking up at her he slipped his arms around her
waist. “I am blessed to have you in my life,
Adira
.
How I got so lucky to kidnap the one woman for me, I’ll never know. Maybe your
spirits were guiding me that day. What do you think?”

“
I do believe that the spirits
were guiding you. I also think that they are who brought me to the facility
that day. If not for something nagging at my conscious from a report that I
read, I never would have been there.” She wrapped her arms loosely around his
shoulders and looked down at him. “Whatever the reason is that brought me to
you, I’m happy for it. I’m happy with you.”

He gave her a gentle hug,
then
leaned back. “All right, let’s get me dressed before
you start forgetting about one hunger for another.” With a little effort she
got him into the shirt and the dress pants of his uniform. The jacket was a
small struggle, but they managed it. And they were each only mildly winded by
the efforts. “You’d think they’d make exceptions for those of us that are
injured,” he muttered while buttoning up the jacket.

“
It’s all about appearances. I
learned that while you were in isolation. You have to put on a facade as if
there is nothing at all wrong with you, or they’ll perceive that as weakness. I
don’t care for it at all, but that’s the truth I realized one night while I was
beating Bracken at cards.”

Fintan
turned suddenly to look at her.
“Excuse me? Did you say you and Bracken were playing cards? Why were you
playing cards with Bracken,
Adira
? Should I be
worried about what he might be teaching you?”

“
Nope, especially when I use what
he taught me against you while we play strip poker. And no, before you ask, we
didn’t play strip cards. I just added the getting naked part in there for you
and you alone. I think that would be fun. Instead of money, betting pieces of
clothing, don’t you?”

“
That sounds very interesting,” he
said softly. “We’ll have to play a few hands after our guests depart. It’s been
a very long time since I’ve played. Actually the last time was when I cleaned
Bracken, and his command crew, out of all the credits they had.
Followed by a very hasty retreat while they were less than pleased
with me.
I hope you at least won against him a few times, little wife.”

“
I didn’t for the first few times
that we played. However, after that I started to win. When he’s bluffing, he
tightens his left hand just a bit on the cards. It’s the slightest of tells, I
know, but once I saw that I knew when I could beat him and when I couldn’t.”

“
I’m very impressed, most don’t
notice that tell of his.” Turning,
Fintan
went out
into the bedroom to pull on his boots. Pushing up to his feet, he straightened
his jacket. “You ready to go?” he asked her with a tug on his cuffs.

“
Yep, I’m ready,” she said with a
grin. Reaching out for him, she slipped her hand into his. “I’m ready for food,
is what I’m ready for. Hopefully they’ll also have some of the honey tea that
they serve.”

“
They always have that on the
menu,” he told her. “Some things are sacrosanct, like the tea. We can get some
to bring home if you want,” he offered. Letting them out of the apartment, he
nodded to the guards outside. He didn’t say anything to the men, and as they
moved away she saw one drop in behind them while the other remained at the
door.

“
What?
Seriously?
Why didn’t Bracken tell me that? He knew that these last days have been hard on
me and I’ve wanted to drink the tea often to calm my stomach. Jack wagon,” she
muttered. “Anyway, yes let’s bring some home, please.”

“
Did you ask him?” he tossed out.
Stepping into the lift, he eased in front of her slightly while the guard stood
directly between them and the doors.
Fintan
rubbed a
thumb gently over her knuckles as he watched her over his shoulder and waited
on her reply.

“
Yes, I asked him and he said he
didn’t think it was possible.”
Which she had accepted as
truth.
“That’s then, however. This is now. For now I really think that
we need to go eat. We need to feed me before I puke.”

“
It won’t take us long to walk
there,” he said. Squeezing her fingers gently, he moved out of the lift behind
the guard. “And we’ll bring some tea home for you. Once we know how much you go
through in a day, we can place orders for delivery, making sure you always have
some on hand.”

“
That sounds like a plan of action
to me.” She took a deep breath and moved along with him. She still had her hand
in his, but still walked just along at his side. She allowed herself to be
boxed in by his guard as well as himself.

The walk was pleasant. A few
people were out, moving around the streets. The sun was shining, and the day
was actually quite warm. A definite change when they stepped into the
artificially cooled interior of the restaurant. They were seated immediately,
and left to peruse the menu while the guard settled into a spot against the
wall near their table.