Love Without Boundaries (23 page)

“No,” she drawled.
 
Of all the conversations they could be having, Leah decided explaining how her body was too sore to ‘join’ with his was one she mostly definitely didn’t want to engage in.
 
Knowing him, he’d probably ask to see the offending body part to assess the damage.
 
But she knew she wasn’t going to get out of it unless she told him.
 
“I’m too sore down there to…”

“You are experiencing pain,
tersa blay
?
 
Did I hurt you in our pleasure?”
 
He had shot straight to sitting and was grabbing at the sheet to pull it off of her body.
 
“Are you bruised?
 
Bleeding?
 
I am so sorry…”

Clutching at the bedcovers and wiggling away from him and his impatience to ‘view’ the area affected, she let out an
embarrassed
giggle.
 
“Stop it, Rykhan.
 
I’m fine.
 
Really.
 
It’s just, you know, I need time for my body to recuperate.”

“We have a tech-med unit here in the house.
 
I will get it and it will tell us if we need to transport to the
Searcher
in order to heal any damage…” he was already sitting on the edge of the mattress, reaching for his clothes before Leah place a hand in the middle of his back in order to get his attention.

“Stop, please!” she cried, but the giggles that escaped made her words different than the demand she intended.
 
“I’m fine, baby!”
 

He twisted around to look at her and she could tell he was weighing her words to determine the honesty in them.
 
“It hurts me to think of you in pain, Leah.”

The area in the center of her chest tightened at the tenderness in his voice and the care in his eyes.
 
“I know.”

He swallowed thickly before continuing.
 
“I value you,
mica tisha
.
 
Value you more than I can describe in your language.”
 
He closed his eyes and turned his head to the side before he brought his face back to hers.
 
“You have taken up a place in my heart and I find that the thought of causing you any injury, hurts me as well.”

Leah had no words, absolutely no words to say to him because of all the emotions that swelled within her after he spoke so honestly.
 
And she completely understood what he was saying.
 
Because even if he hadn’t expressly used the four-letter word, the look on his face definitely showed what he was feeling.

Rykhan was falling in love with her.

And the thought scared her almost senseless.

*.*.*.*.*

“Here’s the rest of the info that I got from Sean, Brent and Gere,” Pam said, slapping the steno pad on the table where Leah sat entering her findings into the spreadsheet she’d created.
 
Between the two of them, they’d managed to ‘interview’ each of the warriors to see what dating sites and other singles events they were scheduled to attend in the upcoming weeks.
 
To the women’s eyes, the lists were sparse and erratic.
 
So they’d tried a different approach which the warriors found humorous as the girls tried to gather data on what kind of female each of the guys were attracted to.

“I’d just like a fertile one,” Ty had admitted in his conversation with Leah and she hadn’t known how to respond except to laugh at the joke he’d made.
 
Although he was quick to assure her that truly
was
his one and only requirement.

Leah looked at her friend and saw she was more subdued than usual.
 
Pam was the more enthusiastic one of their awesome duo and when she became quiet, Leah got concerned.
 
“What’s going on, pretty girl?”

“Nothing,” Pam said on a sigh as she began to pick at her cuticles.
 
“Maybe we should’ve gone home last night.”

Wearing her same clothes from the day before, with the exception of a clean t-shirt she’d borrowed from Rykhan but had been required to fold up and tie into a knot at her hipbone so it didn’t float around her knees, Leah didn’t disagree.
 
No matter how much she’d enjoyed waking up next to her large warrior.
 
“Did you sleep in Wyst’s room?”

“Yeah.
 
He snores,”
came
the heavy reply that Leah saw was accompanied by a tiny frown.
 
Leah didn’t know what caused Pam’s eyebrows to draw together, but she knew if she didn’t press, that Pam would eventually talk it out.

Turning back to her laptop, she went back to entering the information.

“Last night?” Pam
begin
and then stopped to pick at her nails some more.
 
“I don’t know, things just got weird.
 
As in,
way
weird.”

Leah knew that her bestie didn’t consider much to be strange in the whole scheme of things, so for her to use the word ‘weird’ twice in two sentences told of Pam’s unease.
 
“How so?”

“Well, things were tooling along really cool, you know?”
 
Pam’s head turned toward Leah then shot back to here
nails
.
 
“The boys that were
willing,
got their haircuts and looked awesome.
 
We found some stellar clothes in Macy’s and the guys were all over them.
 
But when Wyst pulled me upstairs…”

Leah waited to hear the rest.

“You know, like to his
bedroom
?”
 
It was as if Pam wanted Leah to react in some way to the fact that her shorter friend had spent the night with Wyst, but when no reaction was forthcoming, she continued to speak.

 
“We were in a major make-out session with our tongues half-way down each other’s throats. Then he pulled me on top of him.”
 
She stopped and Leah’s glance saw Pam was looking away.
 
“That’s when things went
way
off the charts.
 
Like, so far off the charts they went into orbit.”
 
Leah, even having known her friend for so long, couldn’t make sense of the tone in Pam’s voice.

“What did he do?”

Pam’s face bloomed red as she admitted, “it wasn’t so much what he
did
…”

Again, Leah waited, knowing that Pam would eventually fill the silence.

“When we…as I…”

“Hmm-hmm,” Leah breathed softly in encouragement.

Letting out a huge sigh, Pam turned back to Leah.
 
“So, like I’m on top of him, yeah?
 
Things are going really good too, you know.
 
Then I leaned down to kiss him again and
whammo
!”

“Whammo?”

“I felt my necklace slide over his shoulder, but I wasn’t really paying attention to it.”
 
She sent a beseeching look to her dark-haired friend as if to ask for understanding.
 
“And it somehow made its way to the back of his neck.”

It was then that Leah remembered what Pam had told her.
 
That the
wahrom
on Wyst’s neck mirrored the necklace Pam had inherited from her grandmother.

“And that’s when all hell broke loose?” Leah murmured in a measured tone.

“Yeah.
 
Big
time.”
 
And Leah caught the smaller woman’s gesture as her shoulders tensed. “That’s when all sorts of the scary, freaking-assed, messed-up shit exploded.”

Leah found her fingers had stopped moving on the keyboard and she tried to look at her friend without turning her head.

“I
mean,
geez-louise!” Pam breathed with a head shake and then turned to look over her shoulder as if to see who might be around to overhear what she was saying.
 
“You know I’m no nun and I’ve never pretended that I don’t enjoy a bit of slap-and-tickle, but shit!
 
To come that long and that hard with all your clothes still on when nobody was touching anybody else’s goodies?”
 
Pam gave another head shake of the negative variety.
  
“Absolutely not possible, girlfriend.”

“But it happened, nonetheless,” Leah murmured.
 
“And I’m getting that you didn’t like the connection that you felt when you…ah, exploded.”

Pam twisted back to Leah so fast her curls bounced.
 
“How did you know about…
”

“It happens between me and Rykhan,” Leah confessed and could feel a blush begin to heat her neck as it moved upwards.
 
“It’s something to do with our
wahroms
touching.”

“And you can feel everything he’s feeling when he’s…”

“Yeah.
 
Pretty much.”
 
Leah’s face was on fire at talking about such a personal subject.
 
“He says it’s because their god,
Tsiran
, made us for each other and our body jewelry is the proof that we’re mates.”

Pam blew out a long stream of air which Leah recognized was something they’d learned in a yoga class they’d taken a long time ago.
 
An action that was to be done in order to center yourself.
 
“I absolutely can’t and won’t accept that.
 
I’m nobody’s girl, much less some dude’s mate!”

“What was Wyst’s reaction?”

Pam shrugged and started picking at her cuticles again.
 
“When things had calmed down a bit and we’d pulled apart, the big wuss got all pouty.
 
Started acting all sulky and moody.
 
Just being a major dick all the way around, if you want to know the truth.”

Leah didn’t want to expound on the topic, but her loyalty to Pam exceeded anything she felt for Wyst.
 
“Rykhan told me that Wyst has plans to nail every woman he can get his hands on before he gets stuck with just one.”

“Seriously?
 
Whew, that’s good to know,” and Pam’s voice held a note of relief.
 
“Maybe he’ll find someone else that’ll grow metal on the back of her neck after she’s around him for a while and then he won’t think I’m trying to trap him or anything.”

“Is that what he said?
 
That you tricked him into coming in his shorts?”

“Naw, the man didn’t go so far, thank god!
 
But it was his little one-liners and put-upon sighs that made me think he blamed me.”
 
One side of Pam’s pretty mouth quirked in a rueful grin.
 
“We both slept on opposite sides of the mattress, clinging to the edge in order to keep our distance.
 
And he wouldn’t have anything to do with me this morning.”

“If you aren’t interested in being tied to him, maybe that’s not such a bad thing, sweetie,” Leah said softly, turning back to place her fingers on the keyboard.

“No truer words have ever been spoken, my friend,” Pam replied in a distracted voice before she raised herself out of her chair.
 
“Think I’ll grab a couple of warriors and let them help me make lunch.”

To Leah’s mind that was Pam’s best course of action in avoiding Wyst as well her own fears in being trapped into a ‘pairing’ that Leah meant marriage.
 
One of the ‘no divorce’
variety
.

“Uhm, guys?” Leah called to the men who were just beginning to leave the dining room after they’d again enjoyed lunch together.
 
“I’d like to show you what I have so far and get your take on it, if that’s okay.”

Rykhan let his butt drop back into his chair as Leah pulled up both the spreadsheet and the calendar she’d created and allowed the screens to hover side-by-side over the middle of the table.
 
“As you can see, I’ve added a lot more activities to your schedules based on what you told me and Pam about your preferences.
 
And, given that you only have approximately five and a half months to succeed in your goal, I think you’re gonna have to step up your game.”

“Game?”
Gere growled, looking at his warrior brothers in confusion before looking again to Leah.
 
“This is not a game to us, Rykhan’s female.”

“I think she means that you will need to engage in more activities in order to widen your search,” Rykhan explained, shooting Leah a glance as if begging for her patience.

“Yes,” Leah agreed, resting her hand on Rykhan’s thigh beneath the table.
 
“Pam and I don’t think that going out twice a week is going to be enough to do an adequate search.
 
Since you’ve got so little time, you need to be working your mojo on Earth’s females every day.”

The men all began talking over one another as they tried to give their opinions about the women’s suggestions.
 
Leah caught a few comments about it making sense while there were other comments about having no time.

“Wait…
wait
.
 
Slow down,” she cried and when the voices fell away she tried again.
 
“It’s not complicated and doesn’t mean you’ll be spending every second of every day chasing skirts.
 
But it does mean that with the exception of Thursday nights, Saturdays and Sunday afternoons, you will make time every day in pursuit of finding your…ah…mate.”

“And an hour each day practicing with me and Leah on what to say and do with the women you decide you want to get to know better,” Pam added.
 
Leah noticed that while Wyst had no trouble looking at her when she spoke, his eyes never once drifted to where Pam sat between Tyshar and Bronson.

“What will they be doing on those other days?” Bronson said, his eyes moving over the calendar that had each warrior’s name denoted in a different color and listing his designated activity for each day.

“Follow ups,” Leah replied succinctly.
 
“I don’t think you boys understand that it’s not always lust at first sight.
 
Some women are just naturally reserved when they first meet someone and it might take a while before they come out of their shell and dazzle you.”

“A follow up is a successive date with a female you have already met,” Rykhan clarified.

Laxon was still frowning in confusion and Pam called him on it.
 
And before he answered, Leah watched his cheeks color.
 
“It’s just that they tell me ‘no’ when I ask to see them again.”

“That’s because you’re asking the wrong women, big guy.”
 
Pam tried to take the sting out of her words with a quick wink.
 
“Just because you like a girl and find her hot doesn’t mean those feelings are reciprocated.”

“Which begs the question, how many of you are responding to the women who contact you first from the dating websites?”
 
Leah looked around the table and only Arbrynt nodded.
 
“No, no and no, fellas!
 
I know you are
a great warriors
and are kind of on the alpha side but if a girl expresses an interest, you’ve got to at least take the opportunity to try and get to know her.”

Bronsyn cleared his voice in disapproval.
 
“It is not seemly that a female make the first contact.”

“Bullshit!” Pam yelled, slapping her hand lightly on the table.
 
“If you want to connect with a human woman,
then
be prepared for her to be self-confident enough to say ‘hi’ first!”

At the different headshakes, Leah found herself getting pissed.
 
“Okay, here’s how I see it.
 
You can either act like a bunch of stubborn, arrogant assholes
who
are still stuck in the dark ages or you can get with the program, date as many women as possible and find the mate you’ve always wanted.
 
In the first scenario, you’ll fail and will have to return to your council and explain why you are still single.”
 
She took a deep breath and told herself to calm down.
 
“Or, you could try doing it our way and find you have more girls interested in you than you know what to do with.”

“Why is my name listed?” Bronsyn demanded into the quiet that had fallen over the table after Leah’s speech.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Pam shot back.
 
“Seems to me that just because you’re a leader, you should also have a chance at snagging some happiness.”

“B-but he’s already paired with someone…” Wyst heatedly interjected, finally looking at the small blonde directly.

Rykhan’s voice cut across the other man’s.
 
“Tela was not his one true mate.”

“I am not sure that I…” Bronsyn began.

Instead of the light slap she’d done earlier, Pam slammed a small hand down on the table, startling more than a few of the people in the room.
 
“Whatever happened to leading by example?
 
Or is that something else that isn’t done on your world?”

“Even if you don’t find true love, Bronsyn, at least you’ll have the knowledge of how it’s done so you can relay it to the council back on Galaxia.”
 
Leah realized there were more than a few holes in her argument, but neither she nor Pam thought the man was too old to consider finding a woman with which to build another family.

No one offered another objection so Leah decided to enough was enough.
 
She and Pam had been pretty plain in what they expected so it would be up to the men to decide if they were willing to follow the new format or not.
 
“If no one has any more questions or concerns, then I think we’re done here. Thanks for listening.”

Not much was said as the men moved away and even Rykhan was quiet as he told her he needed to get back to the maps he was uploading to their system on the Phoenix area.
 
So much of the warrior’s free time was devoted to accumulating information that would save the groups that followed from making some of the same mistakes the first mission had stumbled through when they’d arrived.

Standing and rubbing the small of her back, Leah decided a bathroom break was needed and walked towards the back of the house where a small half-bath was situated.
 
But as she passed by the kitchen after completing her business, she noticed one of the warriors had left their communication device behind.
 
Without thinking, she picked it up off the countertop and turned towards the front room.

But as her fingers connected to the case, the device began to scream on an ear-splitting squeal as an electrical charge sparked and then began to course and pulsate through her.
 
Her fingers tensed as the current held them in a grip so strong, she couldn’t break its hold.

Her mind told her she was being shocked but the voltage was much, much more than she’d ever experienced.
 
And it wasn’t so much a jolt that shot through her but a horrific coating that covered her before sinking into her skin, seizing her muscles with a tension so strong she was terrified the underlying bones would be crushed.

The current that had started on her hand spread up her arm and she opened her mouth to scream but by that time the current was already up into her jaw.
 
It shot both out and down, only allowing her to take one tiny step before she was knocked off her feet.
 
And as she hit the tiled floor, her body began to involuntary writhe as if to escape the agony of both the pressure and the heat that was building from the shocks that were coming in waves from the device that was still clenched in her grip.

Leah was unable to see, unable to do little more than pant at the torture that had taken control of her body.

And the moment she felt it move over her
wahrom
, felt the current come into contact with the metal, a shower of sparks erupted before Leah’s entire world went to black.

*.*.*.*.*

Rykhan was the first to respond to the tumultuous blare then the resounding thud that came from the eating area.
 
As he rounded the edge of the wall, his eyes took in a scene that he knew he’d never be able to get out of his memory.

There, in the middle of the floor lay his beautiful Leah, her back bowed as her heels beat against the tile.
 
Her lips were pulled into a rictus of a smile even as white foam bubbled up from her lips.

With his heart in overdrive, Rykhan skidded and dropped to his knees next to her, his eyes following the shadowy blue trails that pulsed on every viewable surface of her flesh.
 
He detected the faint aroma of burning hair and had to fight the frenzied panic that flashed through him as he saw what she held her right fist.

It was a Protectorate’s communication device!

He was aware others had piled into the room and that one of his warrior brothers yelled a combination of letters and numbers in the old language that immediately disconnected the security system within the tiny unit.

But he could barely focus on anything but Leah.

Pushing his panic and dread aside, he made another visual inspection, taking in the burns of not only her hand, but of the skin around her
wahrom
.
 
The very symbol of
Tsiran’s
intention that their lives were entwined.

Rykhan bent over her still form, trying to detect her breathing before dropping his ear to her chest to listen for her heartbeat.

“This will be more thorough,” Bronsyn growled, shoving the tech-med machine into Rykhan’s hands.

“What is wrong with her?” Pam’s voice was a trembling demand.

A warrior cleared his throat as another murmured, “She touched a
tresl
while it was in full lock-down.”

“And that means?” Even as Rykhan studied the tech-med’s screen, he could hear the fearful emotion in the small blonde’s speech.
 
It was too much for his overloaded brain to handle and he directed his full concentration to the information on the medical apparatus in his hands.

There was a commotion from behind him and Rykhan was aware that Bronsyn was communicating with the
Searcher
, describing the situation and arranging for med-transport to be immediately deployed to the TIPS room onboard the star-cruiser.

Finally, three warriors came to where Leah lay still as death although the med unit said she was still on the living side of
Tsiran’s
ether.
 
Bending down, Rykhan saw the men were setting the three key components of TIPS surface apparatus in a triangulated pattern around Leah’s body, just wide enough to include him as well.

As Tyshar activated all three pads and the familiar green mist appeared, Rykhan raised stricken eyes to Bronsyn’s.

“We will entreat
Tsiran
for her, my friend,” his leader was heard to say before the white noise of the teleportation device engaged.

*.*.*.*.*

There was a flurry of activity when Rykhan and his
wahrom
mate rematerialized in the teleportation room of the star-cruiser.
 
He tried to intercede, tried to involve himself in getting her still unconscious form onto the med-bed but he was pushed aside again and again, regulated to a position a vigilant observer.
  
But he kept pace as the team raced Leah to the med-bay only to be denied entrance when her bed was slid through the doors.

“There isn’t enough room for you, Rykhan,” Med-leader Jyrl explained using a muscled arm to prevent Rykhan from following.
 
“I will get her stabilized and then give you a report of her condition.
 
But you must remain outside so I can do my best for your
blay
.”

Rykhan’s mind told him that the physician, one of the best in their galaxy and hand-chosen for the mission, was right but Rykhan’s heart had trouble with the thought of being separated from her.
 
Especially when she was injured, completely unaware of where she was and what had happened.
 
But he had no choice and made himself take a step back away from the doors.

It seemed like days had passed before he felt Jyrl’s hand on his shoulder and Rykhan looked up from his position on the floor.
 
“It went well, my friend.
 
I have her sedated so the healing tubes can work to repair the burns on her hands and around your warrior’s symbol.”

Dropping his head in relief, Rykhan offered up a prayer of thankfulness to
Tsiran
for his mercy before he stood on shaking legs.
 
“My Leah will be all right then?
 
No residual effects?”