Between Two Tiron (9 page)

“Now where is your proof?” Kaleb sat down in the pilot‟s seat and raised his brows.

Her jaw dropped open. “I don‟t carry it with me. It‟s in a secure safe at my home.”

“Where is your home?” Shard‟s voice was a harsh growl. His brows lowered and scowled

at her. He moved over behind the chair Kaleb was sitting in and almost absently stroked his

hands over Kaleb‟s shoulders.

He apparently didn‟t like her using that word in association with a place away from him.

“I have a house on a planet called Mical in Common Space.” She chose her words with care as

she gave them the address. “It‟s in the Destira district.”

“Very good.” Kaleb flicked a couple of the switches to the on position, activating

monitors. “We‟ll get the details on where the safe is and how to open it later. Show us how you

watched us.”

She stood and walked over to them. Activating the vid, she switched between various

angles. They seemed fascinated by it. She thought they were probably trying to work out just

where the cameras were.

“Did you see anything interesting while you were watching us?” Shard asked.

“Many interesting things. I was very intrigued. Sometimes I couldn‟t tear my eyes away

from the screen.” She leaned back against the wall and smiled smugly. She knew the question

had been offhand, that they didn‟t really expect anything out of the ordinary. They were too

engrossed with the Sendar to think too intently about what she could have seen. She was still

angry enough with them over the ordered apology to enlighten them.

“What kind of things did you see?” Kaleb leaned forward to study one of the displays.

Irritation niggled at her. Lina frowned. She was actually a little jealous about all the

attention they were giving the Sendar. It didn‟t make any sense. She‟d just met them and not to

mention that it was a machine. The two men being distracted might just be a good thing.

“You have a nice ass. Do you sunbathe naked or is your entire body naturally that color?”

She brought one leg up and hooked her arms around it, wondering how long it would take them

to realize just what she‟d said and where she would have seen their naked butts.

It took only a moment, the time to draw in a breath. Both men swung around to face her.

Kaleb gaped at her.

“Where did you see his ass?” Shard growled.

“You two play some interesting games with each other.” She licked her lips, enjoying

their astonishment. “Your ass is just as nice as his in case you wanted know.”

Shard stalked over to her and leaned in close, his lips in a straight line, his eyes stern. She

knew it was supposed to be intimidating to get her to stop teasing them, but she knew she didn‟t

have anything to fear from him physically.

“And did you enjoy what you saw?” Kaleb smiled.

He seemed to be taking the revelation much easier than Shard. She thought she heard a

teasing note in his voice.

“Oh, very much. At first I couldn‟t believe it when you pounced at him…” She let her

finger trail slowly down her thigh. Just thinking about them in that field made her hungry again.

“I don‟t know if I‟ve ever seen anything so erotic before in my life.”

“Well, sometimes, he needs to see that he doesn‟t always have to be in control and I like

surprising him.” Kaleb winked. “But you‟re right. He does have a nice ass.”

“I can handle the surprising him part.” She shrugged and looked up at Shard through her

lashes.

“You can certainly do that. And now we know that you like watching us.” Shard gripped

her hand and drew her off the bed.

“Hey, if you don‟t want to be watched, don‟t have sex in an open field. Anybody could

have seen. I‟m sure a few of the women at the researchers‟ camp wouldn‟t have minded

watching it.” She shrugged, refusing to let him embarrass her over watching them. “Maybe next

time, I‟ll invite a few others to watch it.”

“Since you‟ll be involved next time, I don‟t think so.” Shard drew her over to the

controls. “We still have a few more questions you can answer.”

Calmly, she answered their questions, explained why none of their sensors could detect

her when she was outside the Sendar. When they were satisfied she‟d answered their questions,

they took the two pilots‟ seats. Lina blinked and her stomach lurched at the thought of letting

them behind the controls of her ship. She stood and strode to the chair. Putting her hand on one

of the seats, she turned it before they could activate any of the controls.

“No.” She shook her head. For all she knew, they could have only recently started flying.

They were Ardin. They had people to do things for them.

Shard‟s brow rose. “No?”

“You‟re not piloting my ship anywhere. Move. I‟ll take us up to your ship.” She planted

her feet and braced a hand on her hip. They‟d won all the other battles, but they weren‟t even

getting a chance to crash her ship. She wasn‟t giving in on this.

“Yes, we are. We‟re capable pilots.” Kaleb laughed.

“Maybe you are capable, but I‟ve never seen you fly so much as a cargo shuttle. Do you

know how much this thing costs?” She raised her chin.

“We know it‟s very expensive. You‟re now part of this
thent
and we share our assets.”

Kaleb‟s voice hardened.

“I have no problem sharing. I have a problem with letting you crash us into a mountain,”

she grated, getting a little angrier with every word. Why couldn‟t they understand how she felt?

Shard‟s head tilted as he looked at her. She felt like he was trying to pick through her

thoughts. She knew he couldn‟t read her mind, but the way he was staring at her still unnerved

her.

“You can pilot your craft up to the ship. Kaleb will be your copilot.” Shard stood and

walked back to take a seat on the bed.

Lina piloted the Sendar up to the ship and followed them into the bay. Curious, she would

have loved to explore the vessel, but she wasn‟t given time to look around the large ship. First,

they escorted her to the physician. On the way, she only saw the light cream walls and the dark

carpeting of various hallways and a lift. They left her with the physician as the man began to

remove the implant that interfered with scanning technology. She knew they were probably

arranging for the formal bonding ceremony while they were doing whatever else they had to do.

They wouldn‟t waste even a few hours. By the time they returned, the physician had given her a

full physical.

When they returned, Shard and Kaleb wore dress uniforms. The black jackets had white

edging, green inlay and green symbols stitched on the shoulder. Underneath the jackets lay

brilliant white shirts. Black pants and polished black boots finished off their uniforms. Lina felt

underdressed standing between them as they spoke with the physician.

After leaving medical, Shard and Kaleb escorted her through more gray-carpeted,

cream-walled hallways to double doors. The doors opened silently onto a large hall filled with

people, likely one of the dining halls. Every head in the room turned and the murmuring crowd

grew quiet. She swallowed hard. She felt out of place. In the relatively short time they‟d been

gone, she hadn‟t expected something like this to have been put together. Or for so many people

to be here. For a moment, the urge to run right out of the room almost overwhelmed her.

A path opened through the throng. Thick, gray carpeting padded their path to an older

man in green and white robes. This must be the
chatar
, the wise man, the priest of the
thent
.

Kaleb and Shard curved an arm around her as they arrived before the robed man.

“We come together to celebrate a new addition to our pack and the joining of the Ardin to

their chosen mate. The bond between true mates is sacred and unmistakable. When a true mate is

found, it is indeed a blessing,” the man with the gray-streaked black hair intoned. “The Ardin

will now make their vows to their Lady.”

Shard and Kaleb turned to face her.

Shard brushed his thumb over the material above her ribs. “I pledge to you my devotion,

Lina. You will be my Lady, my lover, mother to my children and my wife. In this, you have my

sacred vow.”

Kaleb repeated the vow Shard had made and after a pause recited his own addition. “I

will protect you, Lina. Your safety will always be placed before my own. As long as there is

breath in my body, you will come first. You have my sacred vow.”

Shard‟s voice rumbled the vow Kaleb had just made. He gazed down at her for a

moment. “Your happiness is important to me, Lina. I will do all in my power to ensure you find

joy and comfort in this union. I will be tireless in my efforts. I give you my sacred vow.”

Kaleb‟s hand brushed across her back. “Through times of plenty and times of lean, I will

stand beside you. Together, we will work to create a union that will nurture and build closeness

between us. We will work to make the
thent
stronger and more prosperous. This I do vow.”

Lina turned her eyes to Shard as he echoed Kaleb‟s pledge.

A moment of silence followed. Shard and Kaleb looked down into her eyes as they stood

in front of her. Satisfaction and joy flowed over their predatory features.

Their voices blended together as they spoke in unison. “I take you, Lina Cadian, as mate,

as wife. Your family is now mine. My family is now yours. You‟re not alone. From this moment

forward, you have the full protection of your mates as well as that of Karach Thent.”

With those words, they leaned forward. The kiss Shard dropped on her lips was brief,

intense and possessive. Kaleb‟s lips replaced Shard‟s as soon as the other man lifted his head.

His lips covered hers, his tongue thrusting deep in a blatant sign of possession. His hand molded

with familiarity over the curve of her buttocks.

“Let‟s go, love.” Shard‟s lips brushed against her ear as Kaleb drew back. “They will

celebrate without us. We have a bonding to seal.”

Dazed and aroused, Lina took their hands and accompanied them willingly. From the

large room, they urged her into one of the lifts. When the doors swished closed, they were the

only people in the large, cream-walled compartment.

Shard reached forward and pushed one of the gray buttons for a higher level as he pulled

her back against him. His hands parted the seal on her jumpsuit. One hand slipped over her

stomach, and then down, his fingers tracing the diamond of soft hair before gliding between the

plump lips to stroke over her clit.

Kaleb‟s hands pushed the v of her jumpsuit wide, baring her breasts. His hands covered

the lush mounds of her breasts. He squeezed and caressed, his fingers flicking at the hardened

nipples.

Her head fell back against Shard‟s chest as an aroused moan slipped from her lips. Their

touch sent a bolt of desire shooting through her. The scent of arousal blossomed and swirled

around her. Answering waves of heady, male lust surrounded her, inciting a rise in the heat

within her.

When the lift halted, they reluctantly removed their hands and fastened her clothing. She

stood blindly between them, aware of little other than the screaming need raging in her. Her clit

throbbed and her pussy ached with emptiness, the demand to be filled by her mates. She shook

her head, trying to clear a little of the haze from her mind.

Shard tugged on her hand and she followed willingly. Thoughts of a night filled with the

hot, hard sex she craved whirled through her head.

The cream-colored hallway was lined with the slate gray carpet used in the other parts of

the ship that she had seen. Shard and Kaleb opened a door about halfway down the long corridor.

Cream walls provided a neutral background, but green carpeting personalized their private

chambers.

A large desk ruled one corner of the room. Two folded, portable computers held

dominion over the glossy, black surface. The large low bed grabbed Lina‟s attention. Covered

with a black spread stitched with green symbols and white accents, it offered hope of getting

what she craved.

Shard tugged her toward a door to the right side of bed while Kaleb went to the bed and

flipped the spread back, revealing creamy white
tetri
silk sheets. She saw him turn to a nearby small table just before Shard pulled her into a large cleansing area.

Shard left her while she was still taking in the interior with its sleek black and green

cleansing shower. He went to a small cabinet and pulled out a slender, rectangular hair remover.

With a satisfied smile curving his lips, he returned to her side.

“Undress,
rao nari
.” Shard brushed his fingertips across her cheek. “I promised to

remove that patch of fur. I intend to enjoy your soft skin as I lick you until you beg us to fuck

you.”

“I‟m close to it now.” She undressed with haste, letting the jumpsuit fall to the floor.

“You‟re nicely heated, but you can get hotter.” Shard knelt in front of her, his hand

running up the outside of her thigh.

With careful, smooth motions, he removed the diamond of pubic hair. He put the small

machine aside and ran his fingers over the warm mound. The tips of his fingers traced back,

slipping into the crevice between the swollen lips and tugged at the pink nub of her clit.

A breathless cry escaped her lips as her hips bucked forward in an involuntary demand.