Laura Jo Phillips (8 page)

But the most astounding thing about the three men was that they were her dream guardians.  Even though she had never seen their faces in her dreams, she knew these were the same men she had dreamed of most of her life.  She felt it deep inside, in a place she could not name.  She didn’t understand how it could possibly be so, but she knew with absolute certainty that it was.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Saige said, her mouth dry as she fought to control a second wave of arousal.  She had never had such intense sexual feelings before, not even in her dreams.

“We are honored to meet you Saige Taylor,” Faron said, his voice so deep and warm she imagined she could feel it brushing lightly against her skin.  He stepped forward, moving very slowly as though he were afraid she would startle and run away if he weren't careful.  He knelt down on the floor beside the sofa so that his eyes were level with hers.  When she met his gaze with her own, she was instantly mesmerized.  The pale blue iris was surrounded by a ring of darker blue that matched his hair.  They might have been the color of ice, but they were the hottest eyes she had ever seen.  Hot, intense and astonishingly sexy.

Faron raised one of his huge hands very slowly and lightly touched her face just below a strip of bruises.  “We are eternally sorry that we were unable to prevent this from happening to you,” he said, his voice strained. 

Saige frowned and cocked her head slightly, never moving her eyes from his.  Once she got past the nearly overwhelming sex appeal, she saw that they were also warm, gentle and caring.  All things she had felt from her dream guardians, but had never believed she would truly have for herself in real life. 

“How could you have possibly prevented it?” she asked softly.  “It is difficult enough to fulfill the obligations of this life, without taking on those that are not your own.”

Faron smiled at her.  “Both wisdom and beauty,” he said.

Saige blushed, something she rarely did, and which actually caused her blush to deepen. 

Saige did not know these men.  She had dreamed of them, or men much like them.  But this was reality, and she warned herself against transferring her dream feelings to these real, flesh and blood men.  She did not know anything about them other than their names.  But even as she warned herself to be careful, she could not deny that she
felt
them.  She felt their hearts and minds and something else that she didn’t really have a word for.  Their souls, perhaps, she thought.  Whatever it was, she knew down to the depths of her own soul that they were good, honorable men, and that any woman lucky enough to have their affection would never want or need for anything.  Not love, not attention, not warmth, not companionship.  Nothing.

She bit back a wistful sigh.  Such things were not for her.  She had accepted long ago that loneliness was her lot in life.  In real life men did not interest her, nor she them, and few people other than Lariah had ever wanted to be her friend enough to put up with her idiosyncrasies.  But, she told herself, she could dream if she wanted.  And in her opinion, there had never been three men more worthy of dreams than these three men who appeared to be the embodiment of her own dream guardians.

Faron rose to his feet and took one step back from Saige, his eyes drinking her in, wishing he never had to stop looking at her for even a moment.  She was so beautiful to him that it was difficult to believe she was really theirs. 
Could
be theirs, he amended carefully to himself.

She was just tall enough, he guessed, that her head would fit easily beneath his chin when he held her.  She was slender, but given that she was wearing a bulky sweater and slacks he couldn’t really tell what her figure was like.  Her large, expressive eyes were light green flecked with gold, the delicate brows that arched over them a deep honey brown.  She had a fine, straight nose and lush, full lips.  He found himself wondering if her nipples would be the same shade of light coral pink as her lips and had to dig his nails into his palms to stop those thoughts.  Her face was oval, with delicate cheekbones and creamy smooth, lightly tanned skin with a hint of rose beneath, marred only by the bruises that made him feel ill to look at.  Her hair was quite short, but it suited her, the dark brown strands touched with golden highlights accentuating her large eyes and fine bone structure.

Faron had often imagined what it would be like for them to find their Arima, but he had never dreamed that she would be so stunning, or that the mere sight of her would cause such intense physical arousal in him that it was almost painful.  He had to grit his teeth with the effort it took to remain standing in front of her when what he really wanted to do was carry her off somewhere private where he, Dav, and Ban could explore her fully.  He sighed inwardly.  Considering all she had been through, he doubted she would appreciate that at this time.

“Jackson, I would ask for assistance in placing the human males in the trunk of the ground-car for us.  I fear that we would not be able to control ourselves after seeing the marks on Saige’s face.”

“Of course,” Jackson replied.  “When do you wish to leave?”

Faron looked down at Saige and waited until she met his eyes with her own.  “Do you feel ready to leave now or would you like more time to rest?”

“Now is fine,” she replied.

“Do you have other injuries besides those on your face?”

Saige dropped her eyes to her lap.  She was not talking about the bruises on her breasts in this room full of men she barely knew.  “Some soreness in my arms and legs, and a few bruises, but nothing serious.”

Faron looked to Jackson who gave a tiny shake of his head.  It felt strange to Faron to have to look to another man for information on their Arima, but it did not make him angry.  He was eternally grateful to the Bearens for finding and rescuing Saige when they could not.

“Saige, will you allow one of us to carry you to the car?” he asked.  “It is a distance away and it would be quicker.”  He had learned a few things about females and diplomacy over the past months watching his Princes and their Arima, Lariah.

Saige knew she was going to feel foolish being carried across the spaceport, but she was practical enough to know her own limitations.  “All right, if it makes it easier on everyone,” she replied.

Dav stepped forward, leaned down and oh-so-very-carefully slid his arms around her, picking her up as easily as she would a baby.  He cradled her against his chest and smiled at her, the expression on his face causing her heart to skip a beat.  For some reason, he looked as though he had been given an enormous treasure and he hardly knew how to express his feelings about it.

Saige returned his smile shyly, uncertain how to act around men who seemed to be so focused on her in real life.

 She turned to look at the Bearens.  “Thank you Jackson, Clark and Rob.  You did more than save my life.  For that, there should be something to say that's bigger than
thank you
, but if there is, I don't know it.”

“It was our honor to come to your aid, Saige Taylor,” Jackson replied.  “You are a brave and forthright woman.  The Lobos are very lucky men.”

Saige wasn't sure she understood that last part, but she could only smile as they all bowed to her.  She didn’t know how to react to that either, but as Dav chose that moment to turn around and walk out of the office, she didn’t have to worry about it.

 Dav moved quickly down the hall toward the main hub of the spaceport with Rob close by his side, both of them at their most vigilant.  With their precious Arima in Dav’s arms, they now had more to guard than they ever had before.

The younger Bearen brothers left the office to carry Willy and Frank out to the ground-car, giving Jackson and Faron a moment alone to talk. 

Faron waited silently for Jackson to tell him what he needed to know.  When Jackson took a long deep breath, Faron knew it would be bad and braced himself.

“She was bound in a crate for, at a guess, three days,” Jackson said, his voice low and even.  “The bruises on her face are from the gag that was tied on her.”  Jackson paused a moment, frowning.  “It did not seem so tight that it would cause that much bruising, but then, I was not wearing it.  Perhaps the length of time it was on her contributed, or perhaps she bruises easily.”  He shook his head and continued.  “It took time for the circulation to return to her limbs, and of course that was painful, though she did not make a fuss about it.  Frankly, I’m surprised at how quickly she appears to be recovering from that.  Even so, I think she will have some soreness from that for several days, and probably more bruising as well unless Riata heals her.”

Jackson paused again and Faron's eyes narrowed.  There was something more, something Jackson did not want to tell.  “Please, my friend,” Faron said softly.  Jackson nodded reluctantly. 

“When she came out of the shower, I noticed that her eyes were swollen as from crying, and I asked her if she had been injured further.  She indicated that she had and I asked, or I tried to ask…but she said no, it wasn't that.  She was not raped.”

Faron heaved a huge sigh of relief.  Such a thing could, and often did, destroy women.  He had seen it happen.  He felt something inside of him loosen to know that she had not suffered that cruelty.

“She said that she had some bruising, and she said it in such a way that I knew the bruising was in a private area of her body.  I also noticed that she was sitting with her arms crossed protectively in front of her breasts.”

Faron had thought himself prepared for hearing whatever Jackson was going to tell him.  But the rage rose in him so quickly, so unexpectedly, that he had no chance to withstand it.  He thought only to find and kill those who had harmed his Arima, and he would begin with the two human males. 

“Faron, your Arima needs you now,” Jackson was saying to him, over and over again, nearly shouting at him in an effort to penetrate his rage.  “She needs you, Faron, do not fail her.”

Faron heard the words and put meaning to them, focusing on them with all of his will.  The only words that Jackson could say that would matter to him, he had said.  His Arima needed him.  She had been abducted and injured and she needed him.  Her need took precedence over all things, including his own rage.  It was long minutes before Faron was able to open his eyes and know that he was in control of himself.

“Thank you, Jackson,” he said when he was able to speak the words of a man once again.

Jackson clapped him on the shoulder.  “Come now, pick up that luggage and let’s get you Lobos and your Arima out of here.”

Faron rubbed his hands over his face and nodded.  He was in full agreement with Jackson on that.  He picked up two suitcases while Jackson grabbed the larger one.  He looked around and frowned.  “Does she not have a handbag?” he asked.  Jackson looked at him in surprise.

“I have spent the last several months observing Lariah and the Dracons,” he explained.  “As far as I can tell, Earth women do not like to go anywhere without a handbag.”

Jackson grinned at the oddity of the toughest, most feared warrior on all of Jasan knowing about such things as handbags.  His grin faded.  “She was wearing pajamas in that crate, but they did not put her handbag in it with her.  I will make some inquiries and see if her handbag can be located.”

Faron nodded and headed out of the office, Jackson at his side.  “By the way, I must tell you of an unpleasant discovery we have just made so that you can tell our Princes.”

As they walked through the spaceport Jackson quickly explained their discovery of the large amount of unclaimed luggage being stored.  Faron understood the implications and was as disturbed by the knowledge as Jackson was.  When they reached the ground-car Rob and Clark took the luggage from them and loaded it into a luggage carrier mounted on the roof.  While they did that, Jackson picked up a silver case and showed it to Faron. 

“I don't know what this is, but they called it a
prime controller
,” he said.  “It looks something like an injector, but larger.  I believe the Princes will want to see it, and most likely send it to the council for examination.  It's in a foam insert so it should be protected against breakage and safe enough to travel with the luggage.”

Faron opened the case and looked at the silvery object inside.  There was something about it that made his hackles rise.  He closed the case quickly.  “I agree, it should be fine with the luggage,” he said.  He handed the case to Rob who added it to the other luggage on the roof.  Faron reached into a pocket and pulled out a small white memory crystal.

“The other missing woman,” he said as he placed the crystal into Jackson’s hand, both of them knowing that the color of the crystal indicated there was not very much information stored on it.  “According to Captain Graey, that holds all of the data the company had on her.  Her name is Summer Whitney.  Candy Bride from Earth, age 25, traveling alone.  There is an image of her, as well as her visa and other usual information on the crystal.” potential

“Did you find anything suspicious on board the
Cosmic Glory
?” Jackson asked as he stared sadly at the tiny crystal in his hand.

“No,” Faron replied.  “There were no unusual scents in either of the women’s compartments.  Just those of several humans, male and female.  The rooms had both been cleaned but that was to be expected.  I haven’t quite made up my mind about the captain though.  He appears incompetent and scramble brained.  Too much so for a Liner Captain, I think.  But that is not enough of a suspicion to prevent him from leaving our system.”