Adira's Mate (24 page)

“
I’ll give them additional leave
time when next we’re home. As it is, most of them already are receiving danger
pay.
The guards especially.”
He gave her a smile
before he stole a piece of her cheese.

She gasped and looked at him.
“They are not.” At his look, she shook her head. “I didn’t realize that I was
such a terrible burden.
Those poor men.”
She was
teasing him; she hoped he knew that. “Whatever you are paying them simply can’t
be enough.
Having to walk around with me, sitting in hydroponics
with me.
Mercy.”
She was grinning. She couldn’t
seem to help herself, not when her husband was near.

“
They like it when you sit around
in the hydroponics, at least you’re not moving then and they can relax. Again,
that’s my fault. I may have been a little too harsh when I gave them the
instructions and consequences. I swear to you I’ll let them know that they can
only do what they can do with what they have to work with.”

“
I would appreciate that.
Stressing our guards out before our little ones get here just isn’t good. After
all, if you have them this stressed watching over me, what happens when you
order them to watch over me and our babies? I think you will have a mass of men
and women that will jump ship, so to speak.”

“
Not if I change the codes on the
life pods,” he said. At her look, he groaned. “Fine, I won’t do that either.
You are a tough negotiator,
Adira
. I really think you
got into the wrong line of work. If you’d been my interrogator I’d have likely
spilled every secret I had, and a bunch of Bracken’s too.”

“
That’s only because you love me
as much as you do,” she assured him with a grin. “And because you happen to
like sleeping in bed with me. Besides, if you will recall when you first took
me you didn’t want to tell me anything other than
be
quiet.” Even then, though, she’d liked him, wanted him.

“
Good point, but I was also still
drugged, in a lot of pain, and in enemy territory. So really I was extremely
well behaved, given the circumstances. I also improved greatly over the days
that followed, if you recall. Once the drugs were finally gone I really started
to notice my sexy little hostage.”

“
Good point. Okay, I’ll give you
that one.” She blushed and leaned into him. “Well I’m very happy that you began
to think of me as sexy. Heaven only knows that I began to think of you as
handsome the first second you touched me.”

“
I will always think of you as
sexy, little wife. Just as I will always love you, cherish you, and wish I
could keep you naked at all times. I know, sometimes we can’t always have what
we want, but I’m still hopeful that one day I’ll be able to sweep you off
somewhere that I can get you out of your clothes and keep you that way for a
good long time.”

“
Anytime we are in our quarters
I’m perfectly happy being naked.” She touched the choker at her neck and added,
“Except for this, this remains always.” It was part of their deal. He owned her
and she knew it. She was his submissive and he her Dominant, but it was more
than that. He was her soul just as she was his. They needed each other,
desperately and always.

“
Definitely,” he agreed with a
nod. Leaning in, he brushed his lips to her ear,
then
lower to skim the flesh just above where the choker rested on her neck. “We’ll
need to take it off during delivery, though. From what the doctors have told me
it could be a hindrance to your breathing. You also won’t be able to wear it in
the following few weeks, just precautionary.
Which is fine.
If it affects your health in any way, it comes off. There is no way I’ll risk
your life just to show others you are mine.”

She nodded and rubbed her cheek
to his as he held her close. “Besides, everyone already knows that we are
forever and always together. Nothing and no one will ever come between us. We
are just too good together,” she said with a smile. “And you would plain and
simple kill someone if they tried to come between us.” And, oddly enough,
Adira
couldn’t think of a single reason to tell him not to
do something like that.

He gave a snort at that. “The
fact you no longer sound completely horrified at the notion tells me you’ve
come to accept me fully as I am. Yet another reason I love you as much as I do,
Adira
. Now quit stalling, woman, and eat your meal. I
won’t tell you again, little wife.”

“
You are absolutely right about
that. I accept you for all that you are.
Every single part of
your being.
I accept you and I will always accept you. You are mine.
Always,” she told him with a grin.
“And yes, food.
Hungry.
Food.”

Fintan
pressed a kiss to her cheek,
gave her neck a light squeeze,
then
let his hand slide
down her back. While she ate he rubbed her back for her, occasionally pausing
to eat some of his own food.

Once they had finished their
meal,
Adira
curled into
Fintan’s
side and smiled. She loved this man. Only he could make her feel so relaxed and
comfortable after having just had such an emotional upheaval. He was, quite
honestly, her everything.

She must have dozed off because
the next thing she knew she was in Fin’s arms and he was easing her down on the
bed. “You were snoring so I thought it best to get you somewhere you wouldn’t
end up with a sore neck.”

“
Thank you.” She shifted slightly
and sighed. “I tend to fall asleep far too easily, that’s okay, right?” Her
poor guards would be having lunch with her when Fin couldn’t make it and she
would fall asleep, then the next thing she would know Fin would be there. “You
are always there for me, aren’t you?”

“
I will always be here for you,
Adira
. And yes, according to the doctors, your need to
sleep at the oddest moments isn’t a bad thing in the least. Given you’re
creating
life,
I can’t imagine how you’re not sleeping
more. Sounds rather exhausting from what I’ve managed to garner about the
entire process. Thankfully women appear to be more than up to the task. I
personally would likely sleep the entire time.” He undid the choker and set it
aside in the box that always rested on her side of the bed. “Since you’re awake
let’s get this dress off you so you can sleep in comfort.”

She touched the choker once more
and smiled. “I love that thing. It makes me feel so much closer to you.” She
knew how stupid that sounded, but there it was.

Once her dress was off, he went
to hang it up. While in the closet he also got undressed, and when he came back
to the bed he was wearing nothing at all. “You are mine to protect and look
after in all ways,
Adira
. I’m glad you like the
choker as much as you do. I was more than a little nervous about presenting it
to you.” He slipped into bed next to her and drew up the covers. “I didn’t know
how you might react to it. Not all our women are as pleased with the idea of
being collared by their males. Even those who are married see it as too much on
occasion, like all their freedoms are forever taken should they wear it.
Which I suppose they could well be as I can’t speak for whatever
their arrangements are with the one they’ve chosen to be with.”

She shrugged. “I don’t feel that
way at all. All I know is that you are mine and I am yours. I love the fact
that you care enough for me that you wanted to do that. You are all I’ve ever
wanted.” She smiled then. “I love the collar and I don’t feel at all subjugated
by it. I feel liberated.”

“
Well you are a rather unique and
special woman. One I’m lucky to have as my own,” he said. Pressing a kiss to
her shoulder,
Fintan
settled in next to her, wrapping
his arms around her and getting as close to her as he could. “Close your eyes,
little wife, and sleep. Bracken will be coming over for dinner later, so you
really should try and be rested enough you’re not dozing off while he’s here.
It might give him more of a complex if you did.”

Adira
grinned. It was rare that their
ships were so close that they could visit. “Have you told him yet that we are
having twins? That they were conceived on his ship?” She yawned again and had
her eyes closed.

“
No,
and most definitely no. We can
share the news that it’s twins with him at dinner. But we’ll leave him to
figure out when they were conceived and come to his own conclusions. Hopefully
he won’t ever figure it out. I doubt I could live with him if he became any
more smug
.”

She nodded. “I’ll tell him. I’m
sure that he will likely find out before he’s on board, though, with the way
that everyone on this ship is already abuzz with that fact.” She rubbed her
cheek to his chest once more and let out another yawn. “Good night, honey. I
love you,” she whispered and fell sound asleep.

Chapter Twenty

“
So twins, huh?” Bracken said as
soon as he stepped off the trawler. He was smiling at her as he walked in
closer. Leaning in, he hugged her and pressed a kiss to her cheek.
“Congratulations,
Adira
.” Stepping back, Bracken
shook
Fintan’s
hand and smacked him on the back. “You
ready for two more like her?”

Fintan
took the hit easily and looked
to
Adira
. “Not in the least, but I’m sure we’ll
figure it out as we go along. I doubt anyone is truly ever ready to have
children. I’m excited to meet them, though, and incredibly nervous.”

“
Understandable,” Bracken said
with a nod.
“How about you,
Adira
?
You ready for two little ones who more than likely will be as stubborn as
Fintan
?”

“
I’m more than ready for two more
just like
Fin
. I happen to think that he’s the best of
all men.” She was leaning into
Fintan
, her arm around
his waist. Looking up, she got a nod from him and moved to Bracken to give him
another hug. “And I’m here to tell you that our little wonders were likely
conceived on your destroyer. Just saying is all,” she teased.

He blinked at her,
then
threw his head back on a laugh. “Oh that is too good.
Now I have something else to hold over
Fintan’s
head.
Not only did I save his ass, but I gave you two the time and space to bring
about your babies.”

“
And this is why I said we
shouldn’t tell him,”
Fintan
muttered. He’d only
agreed because she’d asked, and asked, and asked.
Adira
was persistent, after all.

She snickered and shook her head.
“I was very persistent. Besides, how could he resist me?” She was big now
because of her pregnancy, but still she liked to tease her husband as much as
she could. “He didn’t stand a chance, the second he stole me from that hell
hole he was being held in. He just didn’t realize it at first.”

Fintan
slid his arm around her
shoulders and squeezed her close. “I think that is enough information for
Bracken to know. It’s also time for you to eat. Let’s go to the dining hall so
you can sit down, eat, and continue to spill our secrets to him.”

“
Oh yes, food. I’m starving.”
Seemed she was eating even more now. She was constantly hungry but even more
than
that,
she was constantly horny as well.
“So yes, food.
Real food, otherwise I’m going to attack my
beautiful husband once again.”
Poor man.

“
Way too much information about
your sex life,
Adira
,” Bracken said. He made a face
at her. Stepping to her other side, he offered his arm to her. “You really
should learn to keep some of that to yourself. Especially since you’re about to
have children who will not want to know anything about how they came to be.”

She snorted.
“Hardly.
I doubt that I will have a hard time keeping my life to myself around those I
consider friends and family and you, dear Bracken, are a good friend to me. You
are like a second brother to me.”

“
Do you share your sex life with
your blood brother?” he asked. At her look, he nodded. “That’s exactly what I
thought. So if you’re not going to tell Petr about what you and
Fintan
do behind closed doors, why am I getting to know
about such things? Because as much as I love
Fintan
and adore you, little sister, I really do not need to know anything about
anything of that nature.” He gave a shudder. “It’s bad enough when you two make
eyes at one another. And that is totally a bit of jealousy speaking.”

“
Of course I don’t share my sex
life with Petr. He might try to take my husband to task about it and that’s
something that I couldn’t deal with,” she said softly. “And of course we make
eyes at each other. It’s called being in love. Just wait, Bracken, until you
find that someone for yourself.”

For a moment she saw a sad look,
filled with pain, sweep over his face. The next moment it was gone. “I suppose
there’s always hope,” he said softly.

Fintan
gave her a squeeze when she
would have spoken, and shook his head once she looked his way. His eyes held a
warning not to say anything. When she nodded slightly, he smiled and gave her a
kiss on her cheek.

Stepping into the lifts, one of
their guards got them moving up to the dining hall floor.

She knew that Bracken would find
that happily ever
after,
or at least prayed that he
would. Taking a deep breath she looked up at Fin and let him lead the way. She
had hurt her friend with that comment and that bothered her a great deal.

In the dining hall Bracken went
to get food while Fin walked her to their table. “Why so quiet?” he asked.
Pulling out a chair, he helped her to ease down into it before pulling up a
second one next to hers. He took her hand in his and squeezed.
“Talk to me, little wife.
Why do you look so upset,
Adira
?”

“
Just worried about him,” she
admitted.
“Worried about Bracken.
I saw that look of
pain that ran across his face and that has me worried for him. I’m worried he
will forget that he’s able to be loved.”

Fintan
lifted her hand to press a kiss
to her fingers. “This is why he is lucky to have you in his life,
Adira
. You give him hope, show him that no one knows what
the future might bring, and you actually like him. I still haven’t figured out
why I put up with him, let alone how you manage to as well, but that’s beside
the point. You like him, and treat him as a friend and a brother. He’s been
hurt, little wife. It’s not a wound either of us can help to heal. Only time,
and finding the right person to let in, will fully heal that wound.”

“
I know. Hopefully one day he will
find it and he won’t push her away. I have a feeling that this man will push
away the woman that might walk into his life. I truly pray that he won’t, but
we both know how that works.”

“
Well we’ll just have to ensure we
are around so you can smack him if you see him doing any such thing. I would
offer to do it, but as a man it goes against the grain to do such a thing.
Besides, he’s pretty much adopted you as a sister—one he likes, as he
constantly reminds me—so you have that right to keep watch over his actions.
Are you going to be okay,
Adira
? You still look
unhappy, and that doesn’t sit well with me.”

“
I will be perfectly fine, love. I
just worry. You know, that’s me,” she said with a nod.
“Now,
enough of this.
Food.
Can you go up and get me
some of the dessert that they made for me?
I’m actually
wanting
that before anything else.”

“
Of course I will.” Squeezing her
hand once more, he stood just as Bracken came to the table. He brushed his
knuckles lightly to her cheek before he walked away.

Bracken watched him walk away
before he handed her a little dish. It was a serving of the dessert she nearly
constantly craved. Even he knew about her cravings, apparently.

“
How did you know that this was
something I was craving?” she asked with a smirk and began to eat the dessert
that Bracken had given her. “You are so awesome.” She continued to eat as they
both chatted.

“
The
cook handed it to me and said to give it to you.
She was quite adamant about it,
actually,” he told her with a shrug. “She has a second one for
Fintan
to bring back so make sure you finish that one off
before he gets here or you won’t get the second helping.”

“
They are too good to me. They all
seem to know what it is that I need before I know what I need. I love them for
that.”

“
Fintan’s
doing, I’m sure. Your husband
seems to be wired into your head, and thankfully passes all the helpful
information along to those of the crew. So,” he said slowly. “
You planning
on telling me why you were so upset earlier?”

“
Just
worried about you.”
She didn’t believe in holding anything back from those she considered family.
“Worried about what will happen in the future. Worried about my brother,
worried for Fin. Goodness, he’s going to have an absolute fit when I go into
labor.” So she was adding on to what her true worries were, but she didn’t want
him to feel badly because she was worried for him.

“
Why ever are you worried about
me?” he asked, sounding stunned. “I get worrying about
Fintan
,
he will likely pass
out when you go into labor. I’m in on the bet for six minutes before he hits
the floor. I even get worrying about your brother, but why me?”

“
Because
you’re family to me as well.
We are family. You became my family when you were keeping me sane that week
that Fin was in the hold. The two of us forged a great bond that week. Or is it
just me?”

Leaning an elbow on the table, he
put his chin into his hand and stared at her through narrowed eyes. For a long
time he just looked at her before finally shaking his head. “No, little sister,
it’s not just you. We did become close. But you know I’d do the same for anyone
I consider family. I might not do it for my actually family, but you’re a lot
nicer than they are, so that’s entirely different. I will say you held up very
well, all things considered. I was truly worried for a time there I’d have to
haul you to medical to figure out a way to knock you out for the entire time.”

“
Your sisters are terrifying,” she
agreed with a nod. “They scare me,” she said with wide eyes. “Seriously, how
you are able to survive those women is a surprise.” She sighed and closed her
eyes again. “I missed him.
So much.
I never will do
that again.
Period.”

“
Who did you miss, little wife?”
Fintan
asked. Opening her eyes she saw him standing there
with a tray in
hand,
and a curious look on his face.

Bracken eased her empty dish away
under the cover of the tray Fin held. “You,” he said. “We were discussing when
you were otherwise out for the count. She was saying she missed you a lot.
That and she’s as terrified of my sisters as I am.”

“
They are scary,” Fin agreed as he
sat down. He put the tray down and handed her a dish with another helping of
the dessert on it. “The fact Bracken turned out relatively normal is likely one
of the few miracles the
Craegin
people have ever
had.”

She accepted the dish and started
to eat it. “They are more than a little scary but that’s okay, because we don’t
have to see them very often. I just feel for their husbands. They are working
on getting married, right?” God, she hoped so, if for no other reason than to
save everyone from their loving machinations.

“
That’s the theory,” Bracken told
her. “I feel sorry for whatever male ends up with any of them. And can only
hope that they are very strong-willed individuals who can withstand Mother as
well. If not, then it will be a very short union.”

“
You and me both,” she agreed.
“Although, one never knows.
They might just chill out a bit
with having a man in their lives. Perhaps they simply need to be loved? Having
someone there that will love them, you know?”

“
She has a point,”
Fintan
said. “Look at me. Having
Adira
and her love in my life has definitely changed me. For the better, I’d have to
say. And all because of how amazing and generous she is.” He turned a look her
way and smiled. “But don’t think I didn’t notice you are on your second helping
of that cake.”

Adira
just smiled at that and nodded.
“It is rather remarkable having you as a husband as well,
Fin
.”
She bumped her shoulder to his and finished eating the dessert, then started
with the food that Fin pushed her way.

For the rest of the meal they
discussed any number of things, the mood light and even a little humorous as
Bracken told her a wild tale. She was very sure he was embellishing it for her,
like he had for many a story during his time watching over her. By the time
they were done, though, she was ready for another nap. Resting her head on
Fintan’s
shoulder, she listened while the men talked about
a few issues Bracken had discovered during his patrol of the border. Things
that command would likely send another craft out to tend to, but a destroyer
would be dispatched to watch over.

Adira
was drifting and practically
asleep when she felt the first flutters across her stomach. Her eyes went wide
and she
stilled,
her hand over the place where she
felt the movements. She then laughed, the small kick she received making her
exceptionally happy. “Fin, feel. They’re moving. By the heavens and stars, they
are moving.” She hadn’t previously felt anything more than small feathering
feelings but this was outright, moving across her skin, movement.