Irresistible (Delroi Prophecy) (7 page)

She walked a few feet away to join Vidar
and Zola as they waited, just in time to see a procession pass. There were
probably twenty people, but it was the two in front who held everyone's
attention. The warrior was as tall and severe looking as she'd come to expect.
Until he looked down at the woman at his side. He still looked fierce, not a
man you'd mess with, but his expression softened. His devotion to her easy to
read on his face. He wore black, weapons, and was the first male on Delroi
she'd seen wearing medals on his chest. This must be their dress uniform. He
was impressive. But nothing compared to the woman. She was arresting.

She wore the tight, sleeveless, midriff
cropped top and loose diaphanous pants of Delroi in a light, peacock blue. It
was pretty but not any different from what she'd seen so far on Delroi. The
thing that caught Parker's attention was the headdress. The woman's hair was
pulled back and she wore a long veil over it, embroidered in a fine blue lace
with jewels sown in to it. The front was threaded gold and blue beads with a
large teardrop lapis lazuli gem hanging on her forehead in the center. She was
stunning. Kaje rejoined her, his hand settling on the curve of her waist.

“Janica and Bearce,” he said. “They're
going to the warrior god’s temple for their mating ceremony.”

His tone was completely neutral. It made
her jealous in a way she'd never experienced before. “You know her?”

“I know
him
. He's one the Keep's guards.”

And that was the problem with being a
telepath. She knew he was lying to her. She also knew there was no point in
calling him on it. People only changed if they wanted to, and a woman couldn’t
change a man.

“You're reading it wrong,” he said
softly, but she heard his exasperation and decided it was an argument she
didn’t want to engage in.

She shrugged. “Not my business. Out of
curiosity though, what do you Delroi males do when you find your wife cheating
on you?”

He turned on her so suddenly she didn’t
have time to dodge.

“Don't test that,
der'lan
. If I find you with another man, he's dead.”

She was in his arms, pressed close, and
she knew she should protest the display of dominance and ownership, but damn
did she like it. She shook her head, knew the objection was weak. Why couldn’t
he be a different kind of man? Would she still be so attracted to him if he
was? She shoved at his chest until he set her free.

“I'm not an object to be possessed.”

“No,” he agreed somberly, in a ragged
whisper. “You're the mate of my heart. You are the only person in the universe
with the power to break me.”

Her knees went weak. She felt his
sincerity when he said it, and she didn’t doubt he meant it now. But later? She
couldn’t believe he'd feel the same when the new and shiny wore off. So she
pretended she didn’t hear him. Frankly, she just wanted to go back to her rooms
and figure out how to get far, far away.

“You really want to do that, baby? Run
from what we could have?”

She’d opened the link between them and
it was apparently still active. She could hear the hurt in his voice and she
was more confused than ever.

“I don’t understand you.”

He gave her a killer, sexy smile. “You
have to get to know me then. Give me a chance to win you over.”

The end of the procession passed. Kaje
took her hand and they continued walking, Vidar and Zola a few feet ahead of
them.

“So why were the two of you trying to
sneak out?” He didn’t sound upset about that, just curious so she gave him the
truth.

“We're paranoid.”

He scowled down at her. “Excuse me?”

“We’re both used to running. Hiding from
enemies. You can’t hope to eradicate years of caution in a few days, Kaje,” she
said, giving him an easy answer rather than trying to make him see what a
threat Tel was. This wasn’t the time or place for that.

“So you planned to make yourselves
targets? You know the rebels here would take you if they could.”

“Don’t snap at me,” she said, as mildly
as she could manage. He seemed to operating under the assumption she was
helpless. Getting angry at him wouldn’t change his mind. “We just need to learn
the city. If anyone comes, we'll be ready.”

“You're not a warrior,” he ground out
then took a deep breath, like he was trying to calm himself. “It doesn’t
matter. There is no way anyone can get to you here.”

She snorted. “Don't count on it.”

“No one will touch you,” he said firmly
and continued before she could argue. “You're under my protection, Parker. No
one will get through me.”

His declaration was sweet. Foolish and stubborn,
but a girl liked to be taken care of every now and then, and it had been a long
long
time since anyone had wanted to do
that. She softened a little more for him. Knowing that was a bad idea, she
changed the subject.

“What else do you have to do today?”

They turned down a narrow street and he
pointed to a building at the end. She couldn’t read the sign over the door.

“We ordered new shuttles, but delivery
has been delayed twice. I need to find out why.”

They joined Vidar and Zola in the
square, this one much smaller and open on one end to overlook the sea. There
were tables and chairs by the rail and a kiosk selling food and drinks.

“Why don’t you two find someplace to sit
and I'll get us a refreshment,” Vidar said.

“I'll join you in a few minutes,” Kaje
added.

Well, that was disappointing. She was
curious to see Mr. Diplomacy in action. Instead she joined Zola at a table
nearest to the wall and looked out over the ocean. Several sailboats were
docked far below them.

“Do you sail?” Zola asked.

She shook her head. “Never had the
interest to learn.”

They fell silent for several moments.

“So what do you think?” Zola asked.
Parker knew she was talking about the city and their ability to fight or hide
in it.

“It's not bad, especially on a windy day
requiring cloaks. A day like today? Strangers stand out.”

Zola nodded and rubbed her hands up and
down her arms, like she was trying to warm herself.

“And we're the strangers. I can feel
everyone watching us.” She paused. “We need to get known well enough that they
stop that. It's messing up my warning system. Anyone could sneak up on me right
now.”

“Yeah.”

She'd felt eyes on her since she’d
entered the public area of the Keep so she knew just what Zola was talking
about. It was creepy, like a spider skittering over the back of her neck, but
she didn’t feel any danger or hostility. Her shields were as high as she could
keep them, which kept out most stray thoughts.

“They aren’t as strict about movement as
we’ve been told,” Zola said. Pointing out several groups of women who appeared
to be unescorted.

“I noticed.”

She frowned when she saw Kaje
approaching. Her mental barriers were excellent, but he didn’t seem to have any
trouble getting through.

“What now?” he asked, cocking one eyebrow.

“Nothing.”

Vidar returned with four cups and sat
down. “What news on the shuttles?” he asked his brother.

“End of the week they say,” Kaje
responded. “Production got backed up during the war and again during last
quarter's strike.”

“Strike?” Parker wasn’t sure if she
should laugh or gape. Delroi seemed so well ordered. She couldn’t imagine
anyone tolerating a strike. “Seriously?”

Kaje snorted. “A well honored tradition
in the artist caste.”

“For what?” Zola asked. “Is it an issue
between the castes? Some old conflict?”

“No, nothing like that. The strikes are
usually over internal matters,” he said.

“Usually?” Parker asked.

The brothers exchanged a long look and
she knew, just
knew
, they were going
to lie to her. Finally, Kaje shrugged.

“The last one was a pay dispute.”

“They
think something else was behind it,”
Zola said. “
Why keep that from us?”

“Probably
more of their protecting weak helpless females crap.”

“Can't
you read him? You two have…grown close.”

“No,”
she said.

Even telepathically, the response was
abrupt, bordering on rude. She felt an inexplicable draw towards Kaje and every
time she touched his mind it got stronger. It might be too late, but she knew
further contact increased the possibility of creating a mental bond she
wouldn’t be able to break. And that was unacceptable.

“I think it's time we head back,” Parker
said. The sooner she could distance herself, the better.

“I was hoping to return to the Goddess
temple,” Zola said.

“I'll take you,” Vidar said. “Kaje can
take Parker back to the Keep.”

She sighed. She didn’t want to be left
alone with Kaje, but she'd had enough for one day. “Okay. Let's go.”

They returned they way they'd come. He
tried to start up a conversation, but she ignored him. He'd already proven he
wouldn’t tell her anything of value. What was the point in pretending? When
they reached her quarters he entered before she could get the door shut.

“Okay,” he said, easily using the Earth
slang. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She moved a few feet away,
but he stalked her.

“Parker.”

There was an edge of warning in his
voice. She continued to retreat, not that it did her any good. He caught the
bedroom door before she could lock him out.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” he ordered.

“I don’t appreciate being lied to.”

He scowled. “What are you talking about?”

“The strike. You didn’t tell us the
truth.”

“You read my mind?”

He actually sounded pleased, which
confused the hell out of her. She bit the corner of her lip and shook her head.

“No. But I felt...prevarication.”

“Why don’t you just have a look,
sweetheart?”

She would never understand him. “It's
not really ethical to go poking around in someone else's head, don’t you think?”

He gave her a hooded look that made her
stomach clench. She again tried retreat, and he let her get as far the balcony
door before catching her hand.

“It's not unethical if you have my
permission, baby,” he said softly. “But if you insist on holding back I guess I
have no choice. We think one of the rebel factions may have instigated it,” he
ended on a grim note.

“A labor dispute? Why?”

He opened her balcony door. She followed
him to the wide lounge chair outside where he tugged her down between his legs.
He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and the other over her waist.

“My clan is very strongly aligned with
the Saber clan. We stay neutral in all matters except the defense of that
particular clan and the Torfa Clan, of course. Roarr and I were originally
meant to be the mediators of the strike.”

“I still don’t get it.”

“Vidar went instead,” he said softly. “He
and his men got word about rebels in the area when they were leaving, and were
ambushed.”

She felt his regret and guilt like a
heavy stone pressing against her chest.

“You think the whole thing was a set up.
Would the impact on the clan be that severe if something happened to you or
Roarr?”

She had to force the words out. She knew
she was unsuccessful at hiding her dismay at the idea. He squeezed her hip.

“If it was at the same time, there might
be some temporary disarray, but it wouldn’t affect the strength or
determination of the clan.” He tilted her chin up for a soft kiss. “And I'm not
going anywhere, baby. Now.” He kissed her again. “Let's talk about your lie.”

She scowled. “What are you talking
about?”

“That little jaunt into town today? Your
explorations of the Keep? You're not just trying to learn your new home.”

She sighed. He
was
a warrior. She should have realized he'd know that.

“Eventually Tel will regroup. They'll
figure out where we are, and they'll send someone.”

“Impossible.” He said it with such
confidence she laughed.

“Did you hear about Sergei Trace?”

He cocked an eyebrow. “I know his father
was the only survivor of our first expedition to Earth. Sergei was born there
and came to Delroi on the same ship that brought you.”

“He was a Tel assassin for many years.
He didn’t have a choice,” she added hastily at his growl. “They had his sister.
Anyway, they were able to send him here before anyone knew who he was and no
one was the wiser.”

He was scowling again and she reached up
to smooth his brow, unable to help herself.